Upcycling my old worn out 100% cotton bed sheets, into handkerchiefs, is both good for the environment, and gives me better quality handkerchiefs, than I have been able to find for sale, in the last few decades! I also have a hard time finding affordable 100% cotton woven fabric, which is the right softness for hankies. Good quality bed sheets are just right, for hankies when they have been worn out, and washed, for many years!
Hankies at top of blog are hand sewn, hankies at bottom, were sewn on a Kenmore 1914 (158.19140) sewing machine, using the Q foot.
I did try using the rolled hemmer foot, but my fabric was so soft, it needed starched, for the best feeding, and I didn't want to starch and iron them, so I used the Q foot, a clear presser foot actually designed for sewing knits. It worked GREAT on hanky hems, too!
Sarting off with a leader scrap of 2 layers of the same type of çloth or fabric, sew to the edge, and put the needle down, in the fabric, right at the edge.
Prepare the first few inches of your hanky hem, finger press, then raise the presser foot, and place the very beginning of the hem, right against the needle, where you want your hem to start, and lower the presser foot.
Turn your handwheel, taking one or two stitches, and if the new hem does not begin to feed, raise the presser foot, and readjust the hem, right against the needle. I have my fabric to the left, hem to the right, so my feed dogs can help the new hem begin to feed, when I turn the handwheel. Once it begins to feed, use the pedal to run the machine, using the pedal.
Stop and adjust fabric as needed, holding hem taut, one hand behind the presser foot, one holding the hem several inches in front of the presser foot.
I retire bed sheets when we stick our feet through them, or they tear in the washer. I'm super picky about sheets, preferring soft, almost silky, 100% cotton, so when sheets develop worn spots, holes, or tears, I like to turn them into hankies, towels, scarves, or other uses.
I start by measuring, then cut the edge, and tearing the old sheets into squares of the sizes I need, and for hankies, I like 12" for small hankies, 14" for larger hankies.
I need practice on my hand stitching, anyway, lol! It also gave me a chance to teach my 4 year old granddaughter how to sew by hand.
My wooden art case is just right for using my small cutting mat, for measuring and cutting, then tearing the old sheets, into the right sizes. I like 12" and 14" squares for hankies.
Cutting the edge, then tearing, guarantees your fabric is on grain. You will see strings fall off the edges, but that is fine, that means your squares should be square, unless your fabric is off grain. The right stack is hankies waiting to be hemmed. The hanky on the left is hemmed. I am using quilting thread, which is glazed cotton, which should only be used for hand sewing. The glaze would gum up a sewing machine, but the glaze helps thread glide through fabric more easily, which is important when quilting, but also when hand sewing.
I roll my hem the desired depth, by hand, then knot the end of my thread in a long, thin needle, so I am sewing with a single thread. I weave several stitches on my needle, before pulling the needle through the hem.
I miter the corners, by folding in the corner, before rolling the hems in from the sides, and stitching, if the fabric is sturdy enough.
Kenmore 1914 hemmed hankies-
I did start with a Kenmore rolled hem foot, but the old sheet was so soft, and I decided starching them, first, was too much work, so I rolled the hems by hand, finger pressing them, right before sewing them.
LEADER CHAIN SEWING TO AVOID THREAD JAMS!
Start with a double layer fabric scrap, just straight stitching
It can be difficult to sew super soft, worn out fabrics on a sewing machine, unless you starch and press them, so if you don't feel like starching and pressing the fabric, hand sewing is your best option, which is why I chose to hand sew some of these hankies.
I attempted using the 1802 first design rolled hem adapter foot, but my fabric was too soft, and I didn't want to take time to starch and press them, so I switched to the Q foot.
Kenmore 1802 first adapter foot design using rolled hem adapter. It is easy to accidentally bump the lever holding the adapter, behind the foot, if you try to hold the fabric, so I suspect this is why they changed the adapterto a different knob system, on later 1802's. I borrowed 1802 feet for my 1914, since the sellers couldn't find the buttonholer and accessories book/box, when my hubby bought this 1914.
Rolled hem adapter foot must be correctly aligned to the needle position, to place seam correctly. If the lever loosens, it slides sideways, making a crooked hem.
Keeping the metal "curl" filled, to the left, ensures a good hem.
Side view of hemmer, notice lever on back, holds adapter on the presser foot.
Beginning rolled hem, roll hem, place it under the needle, lower the foot, and stitch the first few stitches, lower needle, raise foot, and adjust fabric edge into the hem adapter "curl", lower foot, and sew, keeping the raw edge of fabric "kissing" the left edge of the curl, in the front of the foot.
Kenmore Q foot, a special clear foot for sewing knits, worked very well for hemming hankies. The sight line bump in front of the needle (left homing Q foot has the sight line on the left, a center homing Q foot would have the sight line in the center, but 1914 is left homing.)
Q foot front view of chain sewing from the leader fabric scrap, prevents the beginning of your fabric, from getting shoved down into the needle opening, so you don't get a thread jam, and can begin sewing at the very edge of your fabric. Because of the way the feed dogs work, a lead fabric chain sewing method, on multiple sewing products, you often get 2 or 3 stitches on top of each other, at the beginning of your fabric edge, locking your stitches.
Right side view of Q foot, leader chain sewing method of stitching from leader fabric, right onto your hanky hem edge, with no thread jams. Because the stitches are still attached to the leader, it helps pull your hem through, after the first few stitches catch in the hem. If it pulls crooked, stop, raise the presser foot, readjust hem, put foot down, and sew.
Notice I chained to the next hanky needing hemmed, only a couple of stitches between them, helped me get the next hem started, right at the edge, no thread jams, and it prevents thread waste!
Q foot view of sight line guide in front of needle, beautiful stitches behind foot.
Q foot view, notice snips pointing to sight line guide, directly in front of needle
Side view of chaining to next hankie product, without wasting thread, and it helps you control fabric tension, for better stitch quality, and straighter seams.
This photo shows a good view of this early edition clear Q foot, you can see the clear raised sight line in front of the needle, which helped me line up my needle with exactly where I wanted my hem. I don't remember if all of my Q feet have such a prominent sight line, this is a "patent pending" marked foot, it actually came in the first batch of Kenmore 1802 presser feet, the batch with the unique adapter foot. Later batches of 1802 feet had a different adapter foot set, and their Q feet usually have Q on them, instead of "patent pending", if I remember right.
A chain of the leader scrap, and hankies. When ready to sew next hem edges, snip the threads between the leader and hankies, and hem next edge. Basically, it is like factory production sewing, but most industrial machines have a knee lift, to raise the presser foot, and often a heel tap needle up/down feeature, which keeps your hands free, for much faster production.
Kenmore 1914 hankies hemmed!
The "fruits of my labor", 100% cotton upcycled bedsheets turned into 3 sizes of hankies! My granddaughter has already claimed 3 of the smallest hankies, lol! There are actually about double the number of hankies shown here, since half were hand sewn, as shown in top of blog post.
