Hemming with a Swing Away Rolled Hem Folder
Hemming often seems intimidating to people, and there are some hems, which are definitely intimidating, time consuming, and frustrating to sew, usually fussy hems, on fine gowns, or blind hems, when you aren't used to blind hemming, and don't know how to do it! The video I made shows me hemming the edges of ruffles, and a folder makes very quick work of hemming what seems like miles of ruffles!
I have learned many ways to hem over the years, but one which I always wondered about, was how factories are able to sew clothing so fast, and get such perfect finishes, and sell them CHEAP enough, that we can afford them! Okay, I realize politics and world financial markets play a part in the "selling them cheap", part, but even when clothing was made here, in the U.S.A., and sold here, but as our manufacturing factories shut down, after the NAFTA treaty was signed, which decimated most sewing manufacturing in the U.S.A., and all of the many businesses reliant upon those businesses, a LOT of FABULOUS industrial sewing machines, presser feet, and other manufacturing tools and machinery has been sold off, recycled, dumped, etc., and this made it possible for ME to get some cheap enough I could actually afford it!
Rolled hemmers have been around for something like 160 YEARS! It was a big shock to me, to realize that many of the accessories we no longer know how to use, and had no idea existed, until we got into vintage sewing machines, and they make it SO MUCH FASTER, and NEATER, if you take the time to learn how to use them!
Here is a video I just made and shared on YouTube, showing me using the 3/16" rolled hemmer folder, on a swing away attachment, which is just screwed to the bed of your sewing machine, and the swing away part, makes it easy to move it out of your way, when you need to pull the fabric out of the folder, to avoid jamming it, when you get to a seam! After you roll that part, and stitch over it, put the fabric back in the folder, and you are back in business, sewing perfect rolled hems, thanks to the folder!
Hemming industrial style, with a swing away 3/16" folder. Start by rolling one seam into a 3/16" hem, put needle downinto the rolled hemm, lower presser foot, reverse 3 stitches, sew forward 3 stitches, then maneuver fabric to be hemmed, into the folder, making sure to hold fabric so the rolled hemmer cone stays full, with the raw edge almost touching the left inner side of folder cone. Sew, stopping to rearrange fabric, as necessary. I like to use my right thumb, inside the fold, holding it in a reverse C shape, as fabric feeds through folder. DO NOT ALLOW SEAMS to feed into the rolled hemmer, it will jam, and could damage your folder, and your project, or product you are sewing. I like to pull the hem out of the folder, right in front of the seam, rearrange and roll hem so it includes the thread tail of the seam, stitch it down, and once you are past the seam, reload fabric into folder. (I am having to hold my phone to video with my right hand, and did this with my left hand, so it is pretty clumsy, and took longer than normal, but it does show you how to handle the hem at the seams.) When you get to the end of the hem, remove the fabric from the folder, swing it out of the way, and just roll the last inch or two by hand, and stitch like you did at the seams. I am hemming a ruffle, so I accidentally said ruffle, when I meant "hem" at the beginning of the video, lol!
