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Thursday, September 27, 2012

Faux Hem Band Tutorial

I recently discovered how I could make a band to finish off the edges of my knit garments. Now, I may be a little late to the party, and all of you already know how to do this, as it is quite simple. But, just in case you don't, I thought I would share this with you.
This is a top that I made with a dolman sleeve. The sleeve has a very shallow curve, not deep like the one I showed you last Saturday. The hem of the top as well as the sleeves is a faux band.
 Here's a little closer detail of the hem of the top above and the finished edge on the sleeve.
To do this, you will need to add a little extra to the hem of your garment when cutting. An extra inch should be plenty.
 Rather than turning the hem to the inside of the garment, turn it to the outside as you see above.
Now fold the top edge down to meet the fold at the bottom of your garment. 
Zigzag or use a double needle to stitch the edge in place.
 Fold the new band down, press, and you have a finished edge! 
On the inside, you will have a small finished edge as you see above.
This works great for knits. Because you have zigzagged or stitched with a double needle, there is stretch in the seam. This is my new favorite way to finish my hems on my knit garments. If you have never done this before, give it a try, I think you'll like it!

13 comments:

  1. This is a good finishing technique and whether you invented it or not, deserves to be shared.

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  2. Good idea! That fabric is awesome!

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  3. Works well every time - thanks for sharing this tip....

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  4. I knew about this finish - more or less the way I used apply ribbing to the sleeves of t-shirts eons ago. Must try this again, though with equal length of fabric. Seems as though I'm on autopilot these days when constructing t-shirts, and then I wonder why they all come out looking the same!?! A little more thought...
    Love that fashionable lady print!

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  5. Great tips! and where did you get that amazing fabric?

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    1. I got the fabric at one of my favorite fabric shops, Gayfeather Fabrics in Madison, Wisconsin. Virginia is the owner and she finds some of the best fabrics. Come for a visit and I'll take you!!

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  6. Genius! I have to try this! I also nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award. The original link is here: http://amityoriginals.blogspot.com/2012/09/an-award.html

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    1. Thanks Miss Amity!! So nice. I'll answer the questions soon.

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  7. Thanks for the tip. I will try it.

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  8. this is the neck that i want to learn can u pls. send alink for this pls.

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    1. Hi Fahima,
      I don't have a link to this collar, but I will be happy to post one. Just give me about a week to get to it. It's really quite easy to do. When the post is up, I will send you a message. Thanks for coming by!

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