How To Sew A Blind Hem

A blind hem is exactly what it sounds like: a hem with stitches you barely notice. It's perfect for window coverings, the hem at the bottom of a garment, or anywhere you want a clean finished edge.

Making the perfect blind hem may seem like an intricate and daunting task for any beginner, the good this is like most things, this trick can be mastered through regular practice. It may seem awkward and weird at first, but once you get the hang of it you will surely find that it's easy and just as fun to do.

First, you will need a blind hem foot. This is a special foot that comes standard with most sewing machines. The foot shown below is the 9mm Blind Hem foot that came with our Janome Skyline S5. Your presser foot version might be slightly different depending on the brand and/or model of your sewing machine.

Notice the black part in the middle of the foot (it may not be black on your machine's foot). It's called a "flange." The flange acts as a guide. It will rest against the folded edge of the fabric as you sew, allowing you to maintain a straight seam and make sure the space between the main stitches and the blind stitches is accurate.

You can get great fabrics and threads at MySewingMall.com. You can check here for fabrics, and here for threads.



Instructions:

1. Make A Simple Hem

• Figure out how big a hem you need to get the finished length you want. Most people prefer to err on the side of narrow over wide so there's less bulk to the folded fabric and the hem will lay nice and flat. In fact, it's often better to trim your fabric just a bit rather than make a giant hem.

• Let's say you have 2" to work with. First, fold back the raw edge ¾". Then, fold back and additional 1¼". The first fold rolls inside the second and you end up with a nice folded edge on both the top and bottom.

• Press the hem.

2. Pin The Hem

• Notice of the position of the pins in the photos below. It is much easier if you place the pins with the tops facing toward your main fabric – away from the hem's edge.

3. At The Machine

• Take the project to your machine. It should be wrong side up, showing that nice folded hem you just made and pinned in place.

• Make sure the blind hem foot is attached and the machine set to make a blind hem stitch. Refer to your machine's manual to confirm the foot and the stitch number.

• Tuck the hem under the wrong side of the main fabric, leaving about a ¼" of the hem's edge sticking out. The tops of the pins will now be pointing towards the machine. 

• Slide your fabric under the blind hem foot so the flange is resting against the folded edge of the main fabric. When the needle drops it will be sewing mainly into that ¼" of the hem's edge that is sticking out and catching just a tiny bit of the main fabric.

 

• Slide your fabric under the blind hem foot with the flange resting against the folded edge. When the needle drops it will be sewing mainly into that ¼" of the hem's edge that is sticking out.

• Sew, keeping the flange against the fold of the main fabric. 

 

• When complete, the bulk of the stitches will fall along the hem's edge and every third stitch or so will catch in the main fabric. 

 

 

• Open the hem to straighten the seam, gently stretching the hemmed stitches so they lay flat, if necessary. Press well.

• NOTE: We used a contrasting thread for these instructions so you could see our work. You'll want to choose a thread color that matches your fabric so the stitches on the front will barely be visible. Blind!

 

• You can adjust stitch length if you want fewer or more stitches catching the main fabric.

 credits to: sew4home.com