Everything you ever wanted to know about hems

[gem]

Stumbled upon this site today, which reproduces a vintage Coats & Clark booklet on hemming:

http://www.digitalchangeling.com/sewing/howTo/hems.html

I absolutely love these circa 1940s-60s sewing guides; they have so much information and often such fantastic illustrations. This was a site I bookmarked immediately!

(I was going to pull a couple of images to post here, but couldn't decide! They're all so good!!)

[Alisoun]

Yay!

I am terrible at hemming, and I rarely have anyone around to even mark them for me. My dress form doesn't have my current set of curves, so she's no help either.

Great find, Gem!

[Lady Kathleen of Olmsted]

This takes me back to  Jr. and Senior High School  sewing classes during the 1960's. I had learned to do all thse various ways to hem. Today, I do what is fastest and easiest. Though the Cross Catch stitch is my favorite to use for hems be that of slacks, skirts, garb hems, etc.

Using Pinking shears was key to hems and seams(to avoid ravelling). Sergers were not on the scene as of yet.

[Kate XXXXXX]

It doesn't contain my best tip for hand finished hems: use silk thread!  Silk mono-filament embroidery thread like the YLI stuff, or Coates Seta Reale.  Wax with old fashioned beeswax (NOT that evil stuff in the little blue box that quilter's use: it's way too sticky!) and sew with a fine needle.

If you can't get silk, try poly machine embroidery thread.

[Valencia]

How helpful! Thanks for posting that link.