Hemming knits on a regular sewing machine

 
I've spent most of the afternoon today shortening some bridesmaids dresses, what fun in the heat!  As they are made from some very nice but quite slinky jersey I thought I'd document how I did it and make a little tutorial for anyone who's interested.
 
I've been sewing knits for years, and didn't realise until I started reading sewing blogs that you were supposed to be scared of sewing knits!  I never have been, mind you I spent years making roller skating outfits out of leotard lycra on a normal machine. 
 
The only bit that sometimes catches me out these days is hemming, and I've therefore devised a method that works for me.  I'm sure I'm not the only person who does it this way, but here goes.
 
 
You will need:
 
  • The garment you want to hem.
  • Thread, and 2 bobbins wound with the same thread (or 2 reels of thread and 1 bobbin).
  • A twin needle.  Mine is a 3mm one.
  • 1/2" wide strips of lightweight iron on interfacing.
 
First, insert the twin needle into your sewing machine and thread it up.  You'll find your machine comes with a spare removable spindle for a second reel of thread.  Mine goes in a little hole in the top, like this:
 
 
 
Next cut strips of lightweight iron on interfacing just under 1/2" wide, enough to go around the hem of your garment. 
 
Trim and level the bottom of the garment, making it 1/2" longer than the desired finished measurement.  I wanted this dress to be 1 1/2" inches shorter, so I cut 1" off.
 
 
 
 
Carefully apply the interfacing to the wrong side of the hem.  I say carefully, because you need enough heat to set the glue on the interfacing, but not enough to melt the synthetic jersey.  Of course, if you're using cotton jersey then this is not such a great concern, but do a small test piece on an off cut first, just to be sure.
 
 
 
 
When you've applied your interfacing all the way round, it's time to turn up the hem.  You will find that the fabric will quite naturally want to fold at the top of the interfacing, giving a nice smooth edge.
 
 
 
 
Pin the hem in place.  If you're feeling brave you can probably skip the pins, but I like to use them just to make sure things don't move out of place while I'm stitching. 
 
As we're using a twin needle we want to stitch the hem from the right side, so put your pins in that way.  This always seems strange, because it's the opposite of what you'd normally do.
 
 
 
 
Position your hem under the machine foot and start stitching.  I used the edge of the foot as my hem guide and stitched slowly.  I find twin needles sometimes skip a stitch here and there if I go too fast.
 
 
 
 
And here's your finished hem:
 
 
 
This is what the hem originally looked like, so you can see that from the outside at least you get a fairly similar result.  The stitching on the original hem is slightly wider apart, I think 4mm rather than the 3mm twin needle I have.  I forgot to photograph the wrong side, but it looks like a little zig zag stitch.
 
 
 
I hope you've found this little tutorial helpful.  If you use it and it works, I'd love to know.
 
 




14 comments

  1. Great tutorial, Sam! I will definitely be referring back when I do a hem with jersey - I wouldn't have thought to interface it :) Can you get a twin needle for any sewing machine?

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    1. Thanks Georgia. Yes, you can get twin needles for any machine, they're pretty standard I think.

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  2. Thanks for these tips, Sam! I really should give knit sewing more of a go ... J

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    1. Hope they're helpful to you Judith. Sewing with knits really isn't that scary!

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  3. This looks great. I'm scared of twin needles, but will give it a go! Intrigued by your passing mention of roller skating....

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    1. I was a bit scared of twin needles before I used one, but actually they're fine.

      My sister and I used to do artistic roller skating (think Torvill and Dean on wheels!)... I'll have to see if I can find some photos.

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  4. Thanks so much for your tutorial. Coincidently I was hemming two jersey shirts yesterday and had a really hard time to get a neat hem. I ended up using the straight stitch and walking food to get at least some decent stitches. Next time I will give your method a try! I suppose I can also use it to hem sleeves?

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    1. Glad you like it! Yes, there's no reason why you couldn't use this on hems (or any seam really). Just bear in mind that the interfacing does limit the stretch a bit, although the interfacing I used did have more give one way than the other, so you could cut your strips in the direction that had more give.

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  5. Thank you for this! I have used the twin needle for hemming knits, but not used interfacing. That should make a big difference, as it should keep things stable.

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    1. Yes, the interfacing really does help to keep things stable. I've also used it when seaming knits, and ironed a thin strip of interfacing over the seam line of one side of the garment. I found I didn't need to use it front and back for example, as long as one edge was stabilised and everything was well pinned.

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  6. The beauty of this technique is it works. And you don't have to think about buying a coverstitch machine. Thank you for this tutorial.

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    1. No problem Maria, glad it receives your seal of approval.

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  7. This is a great method! Hemming knits is one of my biggest pet peeves!

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    1. Hopefully this technique will make it a lot easier for you.

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