Use your sewing machine to sew a blind hem for an almost invisible finish
Today I’m going to show you how to blind hem with your sewing machine. It’s really easy, and really worth it to give your garments a professional finish.
First, to see if your machine can do one, look for a stitch that looks like this:
I made a video of the blind hem process, which you can watch below or on YouTube here. Remember that I’m using white thread so it is easier to see what I’m doing on the dark fabric, but for a true blind hem you want to use thread that matches your fabric. If you prefer written instructions, scroll past the video.
I’m going to show you this hem on a pair of pants. Start by pressing your hem, making sure that the raw edge is turned under at least 1/2″. Baste the hem in place with a seam allowance 1/4″ from the top of the hem.
Fold the hem to the right side, so that you can see the 1/4″ seam allowance sticking out.
You’re going to line the hem up in your machine so that the straight stitch part of the stitch lands on the seam allowance, and the needle will barely go onto the pants when it zig-zags to the left. Use your fly wheel to make sure you can line your needle up precisely when it goes to the left.
Sew around the hem. If you choose to backstitch make sure you do this on the straight stitch part, not the zig-zag part. Go slowly as you sew around, making sure not to zig-zag too far to the left.
Your stitching will look like this inside.
Remove the basting stitches and press the hem again. This is the final result from the outside.
And a close up – you can barely see the stitches, hence, a blind hem.
Maria Kievit
Love this stitch! Use it on all my dress pants when I alter them for other people. Nobody really knows that you’ve used the machine for it, as the stitches are quite invisible!
Emily
Um I might have been doing this backward haven’t been able to figure out how to use this stitch on rtw pants- only on new items (and upside down). Guess I must be missing more brain cells than I thought. . . .
Max of Max California ★
Thank you so much Melly! I had no idea my machine had that stitch and I just ran down to check! And it does!
I’m so excited! I’ve been making lots of little dresses lately from vintage patterns and they always say blind hem the hem of the skirt! Well I am not a fan of hand sewing so I always just straight stitched the hem. I can’t wait to give this a try now!
Tori Thompson
I bookmarked this post! I can never remember how to get set up for a blind hem, and this post was SUPER helpful when I hemmed my boyfriend’s pants over the weekend. Thank you!
More Than A Mom
You are the first person who has explained this in a way I understand! Thank you!!
Jodi
Thank you so much for the easy instructions! Saved me so much frustration!!!
Sara
I just don’t get it!!!! When I try to do the folding there is always a fold on the outside, what am i doing wrong?
Emily, we are not missing brain cells, it’s spatial sense we lack. 🙂
Melissa Mora
If you stitch too far to the left when the needle zigs over, you’ll end up with a fold on the outside. You’re trying to catch just a few threads on that side and keep the rest of the stitching on the seam allowance.
Erin
Thank you so much!
Tc
This is perfect ! Thank you for saving me lots of time and money. (*off she goes to take up some of the kids trousers.)
Jenna
Thanks to this, easy to follow tutorial, I just successfully hemmed my first pair of dress pants! This is exciting! Thank you. ?
Polly Popcorn
Hooray.
It’s 2021 and the nice instructions you provide haven’t become stale, moldy, or gone past the ‘use by’ date.
Makes me think about the first people who hunkered down and shared some teaching moments about joining two pieces of leather together. Teaching sewing has got to be one of the oldest docents in human existence.
NoVaSewer
Let me join others in thanking you for this wonderful tip! I’ve always resorted to hand hemming, but now I have alternative method!