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Aunt Norie’s Sewing Room

By Eleanor Mckee - | Dec 2, 2009

“Why, when I put a hem in by hand, does my line of stitching always show when I don’t even let the needle go completely through the fabric?” This from a young lady teaching herself to sew.

That’s a very good question. A very real problem, a real struggle when you are learning. You’re trying so hard, you’ve been so careful, the dress fits perfectly, and now it has that awful line when you pressed the hem in it.

You are just pulling your thread too snug, too tight, too close behind the needle. Or maybe you are taking two or three stitches onto the needle before you actually pull the needle on through — that will do it every time. To do a perfect no-show hem line, you have to take your time, pull each stitch in so there is no slack, so that the folded up hem lays smoothly in place. Please don’t hurry. You’ll soon get the hang of it.

I remember our sewing teacher drilled that one into us — we had to put a hem in a white skirt using black thread or a black one using white thread and not let it show.

Take a good look at the hem on one of your other garments. They put those hems in with a machine and a curved needle that just barely snags a wisp of the fabric. If the end gets loose, you pull it and the whole thing can come out in a flash. Those stitches never go clear through the fabric and you don’t have to either.

I’ve been drying a few of my beautiful yellow roses from a bush that always blooms vigorously until it gets a hard freeze. Just take a rose out of a bouquet, or clip one off the vine or bush, hang it upside down, leaves and all. Enjoy them all winter. I’ve seen many times a real hard, sharp freeze suddenly and some of the roses will actually freeze dry.

God Bless, hugs now.

— Aunt Norie, P.O. Box 265, Tonganoxie 66086; auntnorie@att.net.