Tutorial – Rolled Hem Foot

Using the rolled hem foot is easy as pie – with just a little practice. You can’t beat this foot for a quick, neat hem on lightweight fabrics!

Step 1: Using the size of your foot as a guide, turn and finger-press a double hem at the edge (or your starting point if you’re hemming in the round)

Step 2: Without putting the hem into the scroll of the foot, sew your hem for about a half-inch, just enough to anchor it. Stop with the needle down.

Step 3: Using an awl or your seam ripper, guide the fabric into the scroll.

Step 4: While keeping your edge straight and feeding the fabric evenly into the scroll, complete your hem.

If you are making napkins or a similar project where you’ll have to hem over a previously hemmed area, do the same as before. Simply finger press the starting point and stitch well past the bulky area before feeding the fabric into the scroll. Before you reach the other hemmed end (I hem north and south, then east and west) stop, remove the fabric from the scroll, finger press and resume stitching.

TIPS:

*If you are working in the round, stop a couple of inches before you reach your starting point, remove the fabric from the scroll, finger press your hem and finish your stitching.

*When approaching bulky seams, it will often be necessary to remove the fabric from the scroll, stitch past the bulk and then reinsert the fabric. Leaving the needle in the fabric while you do this will keep everything in place.

*If I’m making napkins, I hem all the way across the width of my fabric (top and bottom) before cutting it apart into individual napkins. This is faster since it eliminates a lot of starting and stopping. For instance, if I’m making 18″ napkins I cut my fabric into 19″ pieces across the width before hemming the long edges. Afterward, I cut the strips into 19″ pieces and hem the short ends.