Sempstress

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Yes, I said perfect. I’ve made a lot of turned hems over the years. The official Right Way To Do It(tm) involves ironing. While that’s a great habit in sewing, it takes time and it’s a little risky when you have two cats in the room. I forget where I stumbled upon this technique, but it works like a charm even for those of us who suffer from advanced iron-itis.

Sample:

The turned hem, seen from the front.

Critical Stats:

Width: 1/2″
Seam Allowance Required: 1″

(Technically, you can use any seam allowance you like, but we’re going to sew down the middle of it, so I find 1″ convenient. If you’re a particularly advanced seamstress, you can use this method to make a rolled hem without a rolled hem foot.)

Process:

Sew right down the middle of your seam allowance.

Fold the seam allowance to the back of the fabric along this line of stitch. Mysteriously, the stitches act like perforations on notepad paper, and you'll find it easy to get a good fold without the iron.

Fold the seam allowance up again, using the previous fold as a guide. (The line of stitch is now at the top of the fold, and the raw edge of the seam allowance is safely tucked into the new fold.)

Sew the folded seam allowance down, close to the top folded edge.

So far, this doesn’t look any much easier than your average turned up hem. (“Any much easier”? I so speak english like a second language…..) Actually, it may look worse, since there’s that extra line of stitch. Here’s where it wins: you can combine all the foldy parts with the stitching-it-down part (ie, the last three steps) into one go. That’s the beauty of having that original line of stitches in there – it acts as a guide, so you can elevate the standard “I just don’t have time to do it right!” Turned Hem of Desperation(tm) into something that ends up looking like you actually did have time to do it right. It takes slightly longer than sewing hell-for-leather to the finish line, but not nearly so long as doing it the right way, wit the iron and all. This on is perfect when you’re in a hurry to finish something for a client. ;) I mean, not that I ever wait until the last minute on anything, ever, especially when it’s not for myself…..

The finished seam, from the back. In the thin fabric I'm using, you can see the original stitch line (black) and the final stitch line (red) right next to each other. Since the seam is full folded over itself, you can sew a little farther in to the seam allowance if you're more comfortable that way - I just don't like the way it washes up when the top edge is all loosey-goosey.