Saint Jean in Crucifixion Ferrare Vicino da Ferrara 1469 1470 detail

A hem in

sewing Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabr ...

is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the garment.

Methods

There are many different styles of hems of varying complexities. The most common hem folds up a cut edge, folds it up again, and then sew it down. The style of hemming thus completely encloses the cut edge in cloth, so that it cannot unravel. Other hem styles use fewer folds. One of the simplest hems encloses the edge of cloth with a stitch without any folds at all, using a method called an

overcast stitch Overcast stitch is a type of stitch used to enclose a raw, or unfinished, seam or edge. The purpose is to prevent unraveling of the fabric. Variations The hand overcast stitch involves small, evenly spaced diagonal stitches, binding the raw edge ...

, although an overcast stitch may be used to finish a folded "plain hem" as well. There are even hems that do not call for sewing, instead using iron-on materials, netting, plastic clips, or other fasteners. These threadless hems are not common, and are often used only on a temporary basis. The hem may be sewn down with a line of invisible stitches or

blind stitch A blind stitch in sewing is a method of joining two pieces of fabric so that the stitch thread is invisible, or nearly invisible. Blind stitching hides stitching under folded edges; therefore, this type of stitch can be used to create a blind hem o ...

, or sewn down by a

sewing machine A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies. Since the inv ...

. The term ''hem'' is also extended to other cloth treatments that prevent unraveling. Hems can be serged (see

serger An overlock is a kind of stitch that sews over the edge of one or two pieces of cloth for edging, hemming, or seaming. Usually an overlock sewing machine will cut the edges of the cloth as they are fed through (such machines being called ser ...

), hand rolled and then sewn down with tiny stitches (still seen as a high-class finish to handkerchiefs), pinked with

pinking shears Pinking shears are scissors with saw-toothed instead of straight blades. They produce a zigzag pattern instead of a straight edge. Before pinking scissors were invented, a pinking punch or pinking iron was used to punch out a decorative hem on ...

piped A pipe is a tubular section or hollow cylinder, usually but not necessarily of circular cross-section, used mainly to convey substances which can flow — liquids and gases (fluids), slurries, powders and masses of small solids. It ...

, covered with binding (this is known as a Hong Kong finish), or made with many other inventive treatments. Most

haute couture ''Haute couture'' (; ; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design that is constructed by hand from start-to-finish. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Paris became th ...

hems are sewn by hand. Decorative embroidery embellishment is sometimes referred to as a

hem-stitch Hemstitch or hem-stitch is a decorative drawn thread work or openwork hand-sewing technique for embellishing the hem of clothing or household linens Linens are fabric household goods intended for daily use, such as bedding, tablecloths, an ...

design.

Types of hems and hem stitches

A variety of hem types exist because there are so many different fabric types and garment styles. Common types of hems include: *Double-folded hem *Overlocked and folded hem *Rolled hem *Bias tape hem *Blind hem Hems of different depths (which includes the

seam allowance Seam allowance (sometimes called inlays) is the area between the fabric edge and the stitching line on two (or more) pieces of material being sewn together. Seam allowances can range from wide to as much as several inches. Commercial patterns for ...

) may have a particular style to achieve, which requires more or less fabric depending upon the style. A handkerchief-style edge requires a hem allowance of 0.6 cm or a quarter inch. A typical skirt or pant hem may be 5-7.6 cm. The hem's depth affects the way the fabric of the finished fabric will drape. Heavier fabric requires a relatively shorter hem. An interface fabric sewn to the fabric in the hem has a useful function in some hem styles. A

bias Bias is a disproportionate weight ''in favor of'' or ''against'' an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individual, a group, ...

strip is sometimes used as a hem interface. This adds fullness to the finished garment and reduce wrinkling. The hem stitches that are commonly used for hand-sewn hems include:

pick stitch A pick stitch in sewing is a simple running stitch that catches only a few threads of the fabric, showing very little of the thread on the right side (outer side) of the garment. It is also sometimes known as "stab stitch". A pick stitch can be mad ...

;

catch stitch Catch may refer to: In sports * Catch (game), children's game * Catch (baseball), a maneuver in baseball * Catch (cricket), a mode of dismissal in cricket * Catch or reception (gridiron football) * Catch, part of a rowing stroke In music * Catc ...

(also called a ''herringbone stitch'');

slip stitch A ladder stitch, or mattress stitch, is a stitch which can be used to invisibly close seams from the outside of the garment or item. It is primarily used to close seams on stuffed items, such as pillows, mattresses, down coats or stuffed toys, ...

; and

. Sewing machines can make a stitch that appears nearly invisible by using a blind-stitch setting and a blind stitch

foot The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...

. Blind-stitches are commonly used to finish hems of applique designs on fabric. Modern sewing machines designed for home use can make many decorative or functional stitches, so the number of possible hem treatments is large. These home-use machines can also sew a reasonable facsimile of a hem-stitch, though the stitches will usually be larger and more visible. Clothing factories and professional tailors use a "blind hemmer", or hemming machine, which sews an invisible stitch quickly and accurately. A blind hemmer sews a chain stitch, using a bent needle, which can be set precisely enough to actually sew through one and a half thicknesses of the hemmed fabric. A rolled hem

presser foot A presser foot is an attachment used with sewing machines to hold fabric flat as it is fed through the machine and stitched. Sewing machines have feed dogs in the bed of the machine to provide traction and move the fabric as it is fed through the ...

on a sewing machine enables quick and easy hemming even by home sewers. Heavy material with deep hems may be hemmed with what is called a ''dressmaker's hem''—an extra line of loose running stitch is added in the middle of the hem, so that all the weight of the cloth does not hang from one line of stitching. File:5 thread overlock hem.jpg, A five-thread

overlock An overlock is a kind of stitch that sews over the edge of one or two pieces of cloth for edging, hemming, or seaming. Usually an overlock sewing machine will cut the edges of the cloth as they are fed through (such machines being called ser ...

hem made with a

machine. This photo shows the inside of the garment. On the outside of the garment, this would appear as a

. File:Button hole stitch.jpg, A

buttonhole stitch Buttonhole stitch and the related blanket stitch are hand-sewing stitches used in tailoring, embroidery, and needle lace-making. Applications Traditionally, this stitch has been used to secure the edges of buttonholes. In addition to reinforci ...

hems the opening around a button hole. File:Pick stitch hem.jpg, A

hem made with thread that matches the fabric, to appear invisible on the outside of the garment. File:Plain hem.jpg, A plain hem, folded once and sewn with a

running stitch The straight or running stitch is the basic stitch in hand-sewing and embroidery, on which all other forms of sewing are based. The stitch is worked by passing the needle in and out of the fabric at a regular distance. All other stitches are ...

Hem repair

Hem repair tape is a type of non-woven fusible interfacing available as a continuous, thin length. It is designed for use as an alternative solution to sewing or fixing a hem. To affect a fix, the hem repair tape is laid around the inside of the hem. It is then ironed on a high heat; the heat causes the tape to bond the two surfaces together.

References

{{Sewing Sewing

Methods

Types of hems and hem stitches

Hem repair

See also

References