A hem is a fold sewn on the edge of fabrics, to finish a garment nicely. It also prevents fabric from fraying overtime.
Many types of hems exist, such as:
- the double-fold hem: the more used;
- the bias-bound hem: sewn with a stripe of fabric on the inside of the garment,
- the blind hem: as its name implies, it is invisible and it is often used to finish the bottom of a skirt or pants,
- the cuffed hem: to add a nice cuff to pants for instance,
- the rolled hem: the edge of a lightweight fabric is rolled on itself intricately then sewn by hand (often). However, the serger can achieve this type of hem thanks to the rolled-hem presser foot.
- The single-fold hem: it’s a hem with one fold,
These are words you will likely meet during your time as a sewist. However, when you sew a garment, you won’t have to know how to sew all of these. Two types of hems will be enough to get nice finishings.
THE DOUBLE-FOLD HEM
The most commonly used hem! This hem is sewn by folding the fabric along the edge twice, i.e. turning the fabric under twice on the wrong side.
In most cases, the fabric is turned under by 1cm on the wrong side, then it is turned under on the wrong side another time by 2cm. Once the hem has been pressed then it is either sewn by machine, stitching as close to the edge as possible or sewn by hand, using a slip stitch.