![]() ![]() Do not try to work for long periods without a break. If you are experiencing back pain or muscle strain while working, you need to change something. A comfortable and supportive chair and a table of the right height are essential. It is important to have comfortable working conditions. A sewing store should be able to help you find one that fits your machine.In this article I'll give you the basic techniques of warping, weaving, and finishing. If you’ve ever sewn a hem only to have it turn out askew, a walking foot will help! It’s my favourite tool for sewing hems on my work and I highly recommend getting one if you have a lot of hemming to do. This useful tool makes sewing multiple layers of fabric easier because the presser foot has little ‘teeth’ on it that move the fabric in the same way that the feed dogs on the bed of your sewing machine do - this means that the top layer of your sewing moves at the same speed as the bottom. Quilters will be familiar with a walking foot/even feed foot attachment for their sewing machine. ![]() Use a walking foot on your sewing machine.Use your iron to press the folds of your hemming flat - this will help wiggly yarns stay put and make pinning easier.I like to use polyester topstitching thread in a bright shade, because it’s not thick enough to affect your weaving, but it’s slippery and can be easily pulled out and reused once you’ve finished hemming. Weave in a contrasting thread to mark your fold lines.It gives me a handy guide for folding over and is hidden inside the hem when finished. I sometimes use a different colour to weave my first few picks, then switch to my main yarn. Use an alternate colour for your thinner picks.With higher EPI, I use 2/16 cotton for my hems, but Christine suggests using sewing thread in her Coastal Linen Towels, which I think is also a great idea! The thinner yarn makes the hem less bulky - try 8/2 Un-Mercerized Cotton for projects made with Beam, Duet, or Mallo. I like to weave a few picks of thinner yarn at the start of my projects and fold these picks over first.Here are a few of the things I do to make hemming a bit easier: Once you’ve finished sewing, knot your thread around an inner end of your hem and feed the tail through the channel to hide it.Do this somewhere bright and sunny, especially if your project has a high EPI! I catch one end of the face of my cloth, and then dip it back into the channel for a few more ends. I run my sewing needle through the channel created by the fold of the hem for a few stitches and then bring it out. I like to start by sewing the short edge closed. Using your needle, catch one stitch inside your hem and tie your thread to your project. Measure out your sewing thread - I usually do 1.5x the length of my hem.Fold over again, hiding the zig zagged edge between the two layers of fabric.Some projects will specify how much, but most of the time there’s a little wiggle room - do what feels comfortable to you! Make sure you fold over enough so that your needle has something to bite into. Hemming by hand is how I finish all my most important weaving projects because it is invisible and very tidy. If you don’t have a sewing machine and can’t zig zag the edges like I do, you might want to wash before cutting your projects apart - the washing will help your threads settle into place and stick together when you cut them apart. (See our blog post on How to Wet Finish Your Handwovens) I usually secure the raw edge first and then wash my project before moving on to hemming. Washing is a critical part of finishing your projects, regardless of how you’re finishing the hem. If you don’t have a sewing machine, you can leave the hem raw, though you’ll want to be careful when washing. If my warp has more than one item on it, I carefully cut them apart at the spacer and zig zag the edges as I go. I have a sewing machine, so I like to use the zig zag stitch to go over this edge. The first step to hemming hand woven fabric is to secure the raw edge. Sewing hems by hand or machine is a technique used on many of Gist’s weaving projects, like the Beginner Cotton Towels or the Windowpane Blanket, and is a very clean and tidy way to complete your projects. A sewn hem is a great way to finish the raw edges of your next handwoven project. ![]()
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