How to sew curved hems!

I thought I knew how best to sew a curved hem but hey, there are more ways than I realised. The aim is to fold up the longer raw edge (i.e. longer than the stitching line) and sew the hem without getting puckers, wrinkles or pleats.

I found this YouTube video by Prof PIncushion (Link here) showing three different methods.

I very much recommend the suggested machine-basted stitching line (that's the one with the really long stitch length) because it makes pressing over the seam allowance a lot easier. You will get a more even distance from the fabric edge to the fold line that will look a lot better than eye-balling while pressing. It is such a pain when you have to repeat ironing after a first attempt looks frustratingly wobbly. Folding the fabric over at the basted line is easier because of the perforations in the fabric: it's almost as if the fabric wants to fold along that line. Highly recommended.

When you work with a thickish wool fabric then a high iron temperature and plenty of steam will shrink the fabric a bit so you can get the raw edge to reduce to the smaller measurement. That's what I did: baste, fold over and press and then press and shrink. But you can't do that with all fabric fibres. You need a different method for other fabrics.

I would be inclined to go with the first method Professor Pincushion shows but baste two lines: one as she describes, and a second one for where I want to fold the fabric over. This saves on the time it takes to measure and mark the fabric as per her demonstration. The bit I learnt from this video is her tip to pull at the higher up basting stitch line in those places where your fabric won't lie flat enough - to ease it in. That's really useful!

The rolled hem also sounds useful but to be honest I wouldn't have the patience for trimming the seam allowance as shown. Instead I prefer baby hems, particularly with light-weight fabric. This works best if you can overlock (serge) the raw edge. I machine baste at a folding line at a distance of about a centimeter away from the edge, and then overlock the raw edge. Then I press the fabric over once. I then edge-stitch the hem two centimeter from the folded edge. This leaves a very narrow seam allowance and keeps the hem nice and drapey. This can be lovely for the hems of flutter sleeves. A edge that's been folded over twice could be too stiff.

I also like the third method of sewing a ribbon to the hem, either on the right side as a decorative feature or on the inside. Either would give a skirt hem a nice bit of weight. A variation of this method is to sew on a ribbon onto the outside to diguise your top stitching. Ribbon or braid can be placed at the edge or even a bit higher up for a very attractive feature. You may want to use the same ribbon or braid elsewhere in the garment to tie it all together.

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And here is another YouTube video by JOANN Fabric and Craft Stores (Link here).
 

 

I really like the look of the rolled hem. This method will probably strike you as needing too many basting lines that you need to pull out at the end - but just look at the neat result!  I think this makes it well worth it.

The bias facing method is also really impressive. It takes a bit of trial and error to figure out how much to pull at the bias strip to get it to the right tension. I would be tempted to pull a lot less than the word 'pull' suggests - just lay down the strip and smooth it to lie flat along the middle of the strip length (where you'll sew) as opposed to at the very edge. It is a touch annoying that you have to trim this down, but the sewn edge makes for a useful guide. I'm all for top stitching this instead of hand-sewing a blind hem. On the other hand, a thicker wool type fabric is quite forgiving and easier to hand sew, giving a really beautiful result.

The bias binding method takes more preparation for pressing the bias tape as described. The technique that I found handy involves a darning needle stuck into your sewing board cover at both its ends, as a "gate" to pull the flat tape through and press. This preparation will make sewing the strip onto the hem a lot easier. The suggested stitch-in-the-ditch method takes quite a bit of practise (you can also see how slowly she stitches). I must say that I am not hugely fond of the look you achieve with this method, I prefer a ribbon over binding or the above bias facing that will put the bias strip onto the inner side, making it invisible. I find that this looks a lot more grown-up, the binding method reminds me of kids clothes, but that's just me.

So there you have it!  Six different methods (seven if you count my baby hem method that I snuck in there), something to try out when you're not happy with another method. You'll find that the fibre and the weight of your fabric will make some of these methods more useful than another. Go and experiment!

If you are very new to sewing and find all these rather overwhelming then I recommend the first method Prof Pincushion describes (just with two basting lines). Or baby hems when you have an overlocker stitch available and need a really drapey hem for a thin fabric.

Trying out a free pattern- A Review of The Alicia Cardigan.

 My Goodness!  No post since the end of May.  Time to remedy that.  I intend to write some posts about items made from FREE patterns so here is the first.

It's the Alicia Cardigan, described as an easy cotton jersey cardigan,  from Sew Magazine Click here for link. There are many free patterns on the Sew magazine website, not just for garments but for all sorts of sewn items, that you can download.  You do need to register before you can download a pattern but it is a simple process. 

The cardigan has an open front with no fastenings and you require no interfacing so it is ideal for sewing when non-essential shops are closed and all you have to hand is fabric and thread. The size range goes from UK size 8 to size 20.  The fabric amount required is given as 1.3 metres of 150 cm wide with no indication of any variation of the amount between the sizes.

I wanted to use up fabric left over from previous makes and orginally thought I could make the garment  by pairing two jersey fabrics of the same weight and doing some colour blocking.  However I did not have enough fabric to do that and tried it out in a thin polyester knit that I had bought for a pittance in Fabricland's Brighton branch closing down sale.  I intended to use it for wearable toiles and had already made a long-sleeve t-Shirt from it.  I still did not have enough to cut out the pieces as indicated and had to piece the neckband and the sleeves.

 

The pattern has 4 pieces contained on a PDF of 20 pages of  A4.  I always trace my patterns, even PDFs.  A tip that I received recently was not to stick all the pages together before tracing but to put together only the pages for one piece at a time and to trace just that piece before going on to the next piece.  I had not thought of this before.  It was very useful advice as any misalignment of a page can lead to a distortion of the following pattern pieces by the time they are all stuck together.

The cutting instructions (how many to cut, when to place on fold etc) are clear on each pattern piece.  The seam allowance is included and is 1 cm throughout.  The instructions are concise (consisting of 4 brief paragraphs) as there are no darts, gathers or pleats with which to contend.  One thing that perturbed me was that the armhole was the same at the front and the back and thus the sleeve head was  same on both sides also. A well drafted pattern would have a difference as you require more fabric across the back. In a woven pattern this would make a difference but, as this is a knit garment with an open front, it seemed to work well enough when I tried it on.   Sleeves are set in on the flat and I had no problem easing the sleevehead to fit the armhole.  Where I had to piece the sleeves for wrist length I stitched either side of the seam across the sleeve and hoped it looked like a design feature.

In order to reinforce the idea of deliberate design I also stitched either side of the shoulder seams.  I am still debating whether to stitch around the neckband also but will wear it a few times before deciding.

Paragraph 3 told me to turn up the hem in such a way that it created the appearance of a band being added to the bottom of the cardigan.  I did not like this and did a normal hem, which I stitched down with lightning stitch ( also known as stretch stitch)  This gives a bolder look (a bit like topstitching) than an ordinary straight stitch without the need to change to topstitching thread and I preferred it in this case to zigzag or twin needling.

 

The final paragraph, number 4, dealt with the neckband.  This is where I came a cropper!  The neckband consists of 2 pieces, just long rectangles, that are joined at the centre back at the short sides.  Because, once more, I did not have pieces long enough left amongst the remaining scraps I had to cut the neckband in 4 pieces making sure I added a seam allowance for sewing the pieces together.  I should have ended up with four pieces of the same size- but I didn't and I didn't realise this until I had sewn the neck band pieces together.   I do not know how I managed this as I thought I had been so careful with regard to the cutting of the pieces.  I was worried about carrying out the instructions for attaching the neckband, which involved folding the band so the right sides are together and stitching the short ends of the neckband across. With the neckband turned to the right side it is stitched to the cardigan front.  However this means that the neckband must be precisely the correct length.  After my cutting faux pas I could not guarantee that it would be.  I thus tackled the neckband by not sewing the ends together but attaching one side to the front with a 1 cm seam allowance, folding the neckband over to the wrong side, turning under 1 cm and invisibly hand stitching it down.  This meant that the neckband seam was completely enclosed and not exposed on the inner side as it would be if the method given in the instructions were to be followed. The neckband lies very nicely around the back of the neck.

I did think of adding pockets, this is not included in the pattern but I cut out a test patch pocket and lined it to avoid stretch but I did not like the look of it on the thin fabric.

So what is my final verdict?  I cut the size 10 and did not alter the fit in any way.  It is a perfect fit.  I am pleased with it and it will be a very useful addition to my wardrobe.  For a change it looks better on me than it does on the mannequin.   It only takes a small amount of fabric and is quick to make. It is made from cheap polyester so I do not expect it to wear well.  Once lockdown is over I shall be out looking for some thicker jersey to make another one ( colour undecided) - unless I discover something suitable hidden in my stash beforehand.

If you are looking for an open front cardigan then you may also be interested in another free pattern in the same sort of style, The Harper Cardigan and Duster by Sinclair Patterns

This comes in 3 different height sizes (Petite, regular and tall) and 3 lengths and includes pockets amd 3 different sleeve lengths.  There is a sewing demonstration on Youtube from Beyond The Pink Door (click for link)

Keep sewing and stay safe, for your sake and for the sake of others.