How to Sew a Hem

Remember...there is still time to sign-up for a summer Beginning Machine Sewing Class. Just go to the Blog entry for more info

 

Instructions

The following instructions will teach you how to sew a neat, almost invisible, Hem every time.

Things You'll Need

Dressmaker Pins

Fabric-marking Pens or Fabric Chalk

Ironing Board and Iron

Sewing Needle

Thread

Scissors

 

Prepare Hemline Area

1. If garment already has a hem, use a seam ripper to rip out the hem. Take care not to rip any fabric when you take out the thread.
2. Iron flat that area of the fabric you need to hem and/or previous hem crease lines

Determine Hem Length

1.       Put on the garment and stand in front of a mirror to determine appropriate length.

2.      Use a fabric marking pen, tailor's chalk or straight pins to mark the desired hemline. Allow for a hem at least 5/8” in length

3.      Make skirt/pants hems no deeper than 1 ½ to 2 inches. Any deeper and the edge of the skirt will look too bulky and will not lie right. Trim any excess fabric.

Turn Up Garment to Desired Hemline

1.       Turn garment wrong side out. On a flat surface such as a table or a hardcover book on your lap, turn up hem. Pin hem into place and iron hemline

2.      Once hem is pinned, check to make sure hem is evenly distributed, with no bulky sections or gathers. If there are, just re-pin that section until it is more even. I usually try garment one more time to ensure hemline is correct length and even all around

Choose best thread and needle for fabric

The right thread is the most critical thing to ensure that your hem is almost invisible.

THREAD TYPES:

a.      Light, filmy, or delicate fabric (such as chiffon, satin, jersey, cheesecloth, etc) use a very light nylon thread.

b.      Medium weight (such as cotton, linen, polyester, etc) use a regular nylon thread.

c.       Thick, heavy or bulky (such as denim, canvas, polar fleece, etc) consider using a heavier cotton thread.

THREAD COLOR

a.      Try to get a matching color of your fabric

b.      If matching color is not possible go go for a slightly lighter color than your fabric rather than darker, as this is less likely to show.

HAND-SEWING NEEDLE

a.      Light filmy fabrics use a very fine needle,

b.      Meduim weight fabrics use a regular sized needle

c.       Heavier fabrics use a larger more robust needle

d.      To see whether you have the right needle, run it through your material once without any thread in it. If the hole you create with the needle closes up or disappears by itself, you've got the right needle. If you can see the hole afterwards, try a smaller needle.

Sew Hem

1.       Machine or hand stitch the hem into place.

2.      Hand-sew hem

a.      Thread your needle, and leave the short end of thread about 20cm long or 8". (I never sew with the thread doubled unless I am sewing on a button) Tie a knot in the long end of the thread.

b.      I find it easiest to sew with the garment or the part to be sewn on my lap

c.       How far apart you sew the stitches depends on how robust the hem needs to be (the more wear and tear, the closer the stitches need to be), the weight of the fabric (generally lighter fabrics can have stitches farther apart than heavier fabrics) and whereabouts on the garment the hem is (if fingers or toes are likely to get caught in the hem when putting it on, the stitches should be closer together).

d.      To finish off the hem, sew 2 stitches one on top of the other.

Instructions are written from my own sewing experiences and the following sources:

How to Sew a Hem By Diane Ellis, owner ofwww.Sewing4Dummies.com.

How to Hem a Skirt | eHow.com; DemandMay 18, 2011 Media Studios Community;

QUILT for John & Jessica - Part Four

Here is the quilt top finished.  Next step is to put the 3 layers on top of each other and sew them together as a quilt. 
Hi John...hope you like it so far.

Here is

SUMMER CLASS:

Basket Weaving; LARGE COILED BASKET

Join us to learn to weave a large, lidded (10”x 12”or more) coiled basket using fabrics, yarns, beads and more. Bring scissors.

BEGINNERS WELCOME!!



Class Four: Wednesdays --- 6:30-9:00pm --- 4 weeks
                           May 25 - June 15; Cost: $65, Supplies: $25
Class Five: Mondays --- 6:30-9:00pm --- 4 weeks
                          July 1 - Aug 8; Cost: $65, Supplies: $25

Instructor Ms. Terry Kevin has been weaving baskets and teaching art to children and adults since 1985. She is a licensed Art Educator with a Master’s degree from University of Cincinnati, College of Design, Architecture and Planning. She has a Bachelor of fine Arts in Fiber Arts from Northern Illinois University. All classes will be held at Ms. Kevin’s home and studio at 1324 Voll Road, Anderson Township, 45230.

Classes fill quickly so register early.

Your satisfaction is guaranteed. A full refund may be requested prior to the end of the first class.

TO REGISTER FOR CLASSES

MAIL: Name, Address, Phone#, Email, Class and  Check
TO: Terry Kevin, 1324 Voll Road, Cincinnati, OH 45230

HAVE QUESTIONS???  

Email: organizebytk@gmail.com / (513)382-7156



NEW CLASS!! 

Beginning Machine Sewing   - - - - - - - - - - - -

Do you dream about creating run-way fashions?

Would you like to sew but haven’t mastered how to sew on your machine?

Come learn how to thread, sew and solve day-to-day common sewing machine problems. Each student will construct either a skirt or pants as they learn skills and techniques of reading patterns, gathering, hemming and altering garments.

Bring a sewing machine, scissors, tape measure and pins. Second class we meet at a local fabric store where students purchase fabric for project.

TEENAGERS Beginning Sewing

Class One:

Mondays --- 6:00-8:30pm --- 5 weeks

June 6 – June 27 and Tues, July 5 --- Cost: $100.00

Class Two:

Sundays --- 1:00-3:30pm --- 5 weeks
July 10 – August 7 --- Cost: $100.00

TEENAGERS to ADULTS Beginning Sewing

Class Three:

Saturdays ---1:00-3:30pm --- 5 weeks
July 2 -July 30 --- Cost: $100.00

Refer a friend and both of receive $10.00 off cost of class!!! Let me know when you register.

Class instructor Ms. Terry Kevin has been machine sewing clothing and quilts for 40 years. She is a licensed Art Educator with a Master’s degree from University of Cincinnati, College of Design, Architecture and Planning. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fiber Arts from Northern Illinois University. All classes will be held  at Ms. Kevin’s home; 1324 Voll Road, Anderson Township, 45230.

Classes fill quickly so register early!!!!!

Your satisfaction is guaranteed.

If after the first class you are dissatisfied, a full refund may be requested.

TO REGISTER FOR CLASSES

MAIL YOUR: Name…Address… Phone # … Email… Class & Dates…and a Check

TO: Terry Kevin, 1324 Voll Road, Cincinnati, OH 45230

HAVE QUESTIONS???  NEED MORE INFO???

Email: organizebytk@gmail.com / (513)382-7156

QUILT for John & Jessica - Part Three

QUILT for John & Jessica - Continued Directions

MAKING the DIAMOND CENTER






I used a large variety of patterned and light and dark fabrics to make the over-size diamond shapes featured in the center of this quilt.   

After grouping fabric into 4 groups of light and 4 groups of dark, I cut them into 11" strips of varying widths and sewed them together. From the fabric sewn from strips I cut out the triangles and put them together to make the diamond shape. See Kaffe Fassett's book, Simple Shapes-Spectacular Quilts (2010) for more specifics.

Dark orange and pink strips sewn together

Dark blue-green strips sewn together.

QUILT for John & Jessica - Part Two

Quilt for John & Jessica; directions continued…

MAKING THE DIAGONAL SQUARES BORDER



OK,so now I have an assortment of purple fabrics cut into 2-3/4" by 2-3/4" squares. I sewed the squares to each other in long planned out strips of 9 squares. Each strip moves from light to dark in value. 



After I had several strips sewn , I pinned and joined the strips to each other, staggering the the first color in the row each time. 



TO form a corner, I laid the strips on the floor to figure out exactly where to add and delete squares. 

Part Three...Making the Diamond Design for Center of QUILT









QUILT for John & Jessica - Part One

Do you like to sew quilts? Creating machine-stitched, patchwork quilts is an activity I thoroughly enjoy. My love of sewing and working with fabrics began when I was 12 years old. In a  Home Economics class I was taught how to sew on a sewing machine. We sewed aprons; mine was a blue gingham check material. That same year my Great Aunt Frances died. With money from Aunt Frances my parents kindly spent $100 and bought me a Sears Kenmore Sewing machine. That was 40 years ago and I still sew on the Kenmore machine as well as a newer Singer sewing machine.

Using my new Kenmore machine, I took up sewing with a passion. I sewed dresses and shirts for myself and family members. At age 13, I made my own star patchwork design. I sewed the design with 4 repeats, creating a 2” x 2” finished.Then I took several of the  patchwork sections, mounted them on wooden stretcher frames and entered a local art fiar to sell my patchwork designs as wall art. My only buyers that day were my parents but I was very proud to be displaying and selling my artwork!

From then on I continued sewing and selling my artworks at art fairs and galleries. Today, I have come a long way with my sewing and artistic skills.I am still moved by playing with fabric patterns and colors to create a quilt design but my craftsmanship and design sophistication has progressed to a much higher level.

John & Jessica’s quilt is my current project. John is my oldest son. He is in an Army linguistics training program in Monterey, California. Last month he married Jessica, his high school sweet-heart. I couldn't be there for their wedding but I sure can put my heart and talents into making them a warm, cosy quilt for their new life together. For the main colors they chose all tints and shades of purple and blue-grey.  

Last month I watched an inspirational sewing program on PBS television. I decided to incorporate t he patchwork design form the program into this quilt. The featured design uses 9 squares of one color fabric going from light to dark.

The pattern is comprised of 9, 2-3/4" fabric squares

large green...COILED BASKET

This post is about one of my passions; a coiled basket I wove. I love the hand-work of wrapping an element over and under and then pulling it tight to join the rows coils. I also enjoy the analizing and choosing the basket's shape, which color or fabric to put where and when to leave a strip to attach a bead.

This basket measures 10" high and 17" wide. It has a bound paper core which is coiled with fabric strips and yarns of cotton, wool and silk. One The picture is of the green fabric used to coil the basket. The fabric is randomly painted and then torn into strips. The paint serves the purpose of adding depth and additional colors which helps to tie in all the other yarns and fabrics also used to weave the basket.

Weaving this basket was part of my down fall at a previous job. My employers and I were not in agreement that basket weaving was a permissable activity to do when I worked 3rd shift EVEN IF all my work was done and all clients were safe and taken care of. It took time but I finally got it.

MORE TIPS…Maximizing Bedroom Closet

Here are tips to consider whether readying your home to sell or just organizing the closet for yourself.

1.       Remove Uneeded Items:

For example: clothes, shoes, and bulky jackets that are out of season or worn only on formal occasions.

2.      Apply the Two-Thirds Rule:

“…have closets no more than two-thirds full. Prospective buyers should be able to look inside a closet and think: I have more stuff than this. But there is extra room in the closet, so surely my things will fit.”  Terrylynn Fisher, Home Staging Expert

3.       Box It Up, Move It Out:
Pack, label and remove extra items. They can be stored under the bed, in the garage, or in a basement, etc.

4.      Use Space Wisely

If you have weeded out clothing items and closets are still packed then see if drawer space, hanger space, and shelving in the bedroom are being used wisely.  For example, Jeans and tee-shirts can be folded and stacked on shelves or put in drawers — if there’s space.

5.       Brighten Up Closet:
Experts say it helps to paint the inside of closet a bright, neutral color and clean the lighting fixtures so the space won’t appear dark and dingy.

6.      Use Only 1-2 Types of Hangers:

Take wire hangers to the dry cleaners and purchase similar hangers like  plastic hangers

7.       Group Clothing:

         Group like clothing items together  all facing the same direction; group  like items by color

Maximize Bedroom Closet Storage: action steps & tips

Why work on your closet?

Have trouble finding outfits because your clothes are packed too tightly? Are the closet shelves filled with things you haven't seen or used for years? Do you have trouble fitting everthing in your closet?

Hey, YOU ARE NOT ALONE! My own closet is a 'work in progress'. I continually refine ways to make it  ‘user friendly’ and eye-appealing. Also many clients I've worked with as a Professional Organizer start with jammed closets plus more clothing in dressers, on beds and on floors. With effort, we achieve  an organized, workable closet and dresser storage. My experience is that SORTING & STREAMLINING IS WORTH IT; a functional clothes closet can really help simplfy one’s life and add visual appeal when you are selling your home.

Maximizing Closet Storage; StepOne: DETERMINE PURPOSE

Begin by deciding the Purpose of your bedroom closet. Is it for work clothes first and casual clothes if there is room? Do you want only current season clothing within reach and out-of-season clothing in stored or on the top shelves? Do you need space for multiple pairs of shoes, hats or other non-hanging clothes items?

Maximizing Closet Storage; StepTwo: PRIORITIZE &DeCLUTTER

Take everything out of the closet. It is time Prioritize & DeClutter so the closet can serve your Purpose. Take a hard look at everything you own . Are you actually using and enjoying all the clothing items that you had in the closet? If you haven't used it for two years, do you really need to keep it? Separate  items into these suggested categories:

1.       Does not fit Purpose and needs to go elsewhere (Pictures, books, kitchen items, etc)

2.       To donate, sell or discard (May include clothing: not worn in a year, too small, too large, wrong color, needs repair forever,  several similar items, is out of style, extra hangers)

3.       Items to be stored in closet if there is room (Extra shoes, purses, scarves, etc)

4.       Items to put back into closet; items that serve your Purpose