Hem Stitching

For those of you who don't know what hem stitching is I'll explain. Hemstitching is the little holes punched in the edge of burpers, hankies, pillowcases etc... These allow you to crochet the edges of your project easily. With out having to poke your own holes.

You can buy articles pre-made at some local fabric stores. Or at the Quilted Bear (if you are in Utah). Also some stores will hem stitch you on articles you have made yourself. This is really nice because usually the pre-made stuff is not cute at all. The store usually just uses scraps and sometimes the front and back don't even match. The cotton Shop in Provo, I have found them to be the cheapest around. They currently charge $1 a linear yard. Not bad really. They have done a good job for me in the past. Also you can get packets online at the Fabric Mill. They also have the pattern booklets.

Also, there is a really easy way to hemstitch on your home machine. The requirements are as follows.

1. Your machine has do to a "Star Stitch" (or something similar, where the needle hits the same place multiple times.)

2. You have to have a "Winged Needle" (the sides are wider and poke larger holes than regular needles do)

3.Thread- (I usually use a serger cone) Because you are using a Star stitch you will use kind of a lot of thread.

4. Sew 1/4 from the edge. I like to serge the edges before I start and then star stitch right on the inside edge of my serging.

5. Make sure when you cut out your fabric that the front and back match up. We don't want any bubbles on the edges because one layer is bigger than the other. (If I'm doing a blanket I usually safety pin from the middle out to make sure I avoid this problem.

For the most part I do my own small items, Bibs, Burpers etc... and send the blankets out to be done. Sometimes its just not worth my time and I pay to have it done.