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Monday, December 12, 2011

Faster Method for Double Turned Narrow Hems , Tutorial

I had 16 table napkins to hem. UGH! After spending about 30 minutes hemming one, I was trying to find a strategy for getting them all hemmed before Christmas dinner!! I was thinking along the lines of  - "If I hem two a day, I will have them finished in about a week." The problem was that it was tedious turning each side of the hem and pressing, then turning again and pressing, then making sure it stayed turned while I sewed each side. Doesn't sound hard, but it was more time consuming than I wanted to deal with. Then I turned to my trusty glue stick and came up with a method that allowed me to make 15 more in about 40 minutes! Such a simple little trick, but it really made my work easy and fast!!

I cut my fabric 24" x 14". In my mind, this was a nice size for placing across your lap. You can cut them the size you want.

Run a line of glue stick along one side at a time and turn the hem in 1/4". (I was not really exact in turning. After all, these are going to be used to wipe dirty mouths! I just eyeballed the turn under.)
Press the hem down. (Do only one side at a time.)
Run another line of glue stick along the turned under hem and repeat turning and pressing. Now you have a double turned hem ready to sew.
To reduce bulk in the corners, you can trim the corner before the second turn under. Sew your hem down on each side, pivoting at each corner.
 
TA-DAH! You're finished. Give it a try to see if it doesn't make the work of hemming much faster!

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10 comments:

  1. I am SUCH a fan of glue and also Wonder tape! The tape works perfectly in keeping zippers in place before stitching, and glue is great in preparing applique pieces for stitching, too. Never thought to use it for hemming napkins so I appreciate the tutorial!

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  2. Great tutorial....I have been wanting to make some of these. Gots a question, tho --- how easy/hard is it to get the glue off your iron? Inquiring minds, and all that! :)

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  3. What a neat trick! Thanks a million...and all the hours of hemming stuff.

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  4. Well isn't that a great tutorial!!! Thanks for Sharing Linda you always have the neatest ideas!

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  5. I use glue for everything in the sewing room - haven't thought of this though so thanks! blessings, marlene

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  6. Great tip...thanks for sharing!

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  7. I used to use glue all the time when I was sewing home decorating items. Great tip for the napkins, 16 is a lot to do!

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  8. I dearly love my glue stick, lol - yes it does make it so much faster!!!!

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  9. Hi Linda. You ave some great time saving ideas. Thanks for sharing

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  10. Love this idea...thank you for sharing...I need all the tricks I can get this time of year...way too much on my plate. HUGS!

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