Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Rolled Hem Experimentation

Recently, I've been putting a lot of thought into how to recreate the hem seen in this picture.



It looks like it's stuffed, and thanks to some advice from some online costumers, I've gotten some ideas. First, I'm going to try to line the briefs with swimwear liner, and I'm also going to use a thread called "wolly nylon". I have ordered both of these online over the past few days, and expect them to arrive shortly.

In the mean time, I wanted to do a little experimentation of my own, with what I had onhand. I have never used a rolled hem foot on my sewing machine before, but as luck would have it, mine came with one. I loaded it in, and got to work.



Though it's a bit sloppy, this is pretty much exactly the effect I was hoping to get. I don't even know if I need the lining, but I suppose it could only help to make it a little more puffy. I guess all I really need to do is practic my technique so I can get a straight hem every time.



Most surprising is the amount of stretch I get out of the straight stitch that I used to sew this hem, even though it was regular cotton thread. I imagine the results will only be better once I fire up the wolly nylon.

In other news, I picked up a few supplies from the fabric store the other day. The seam ripper is something I've needed for a long time, though an exacto blade has been filling in for it in the interim. The no-fray stuff is all for serger chains that I will sew back into themselves using those big-eyed needles. Just building the tool set, I guess.

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