I am finally pretty much done with my skirt, it only took a few more awkward moments and seams ripped out.
My lining is all kindsa crazy. We didn’t have enough big pieces, so I had to Frankenstein it together out of 5 smaller pieces. Some pieces just barely squeezed by, with slight chunks missing out of the bottom here and there. Attaching the lining was fairly easy, but of course, I did it a roundabout way so it took me much longer than it should have. Yet again, this is a good example of why you should read everything carefully. Once that was in place, I was set to hem!
Remember early on when I cut the front of the skirt from the lining pattern? Because of that mix up, creating a hem that was the right length was going to be difficult. I turned to the total sewing guru here at the office, Larisa, who suggested I make a baby hem. Now for her, this was no big deal; for me, huge deal. Let me tell you, that woman would have me running a triathlon before I could even walk!
Two hours later, I have my baby hem! That baby hem foot is awesome, it guides the fabric at just the right distance so the hem looks really professional. You fold the hem in about half an inch to the wrong side, its about the length of my nail which is a good guide. Sewing with the foot takes practice, but surprisingly enough, I think that cutting is the hardest part. Once you sew that first hem you have to go in with really sharp, thin scissors and cut close to the stitch, but not too close or it will pull out, totally nerve wracking. When you are finished cutting (it took me a while) you flip it over once more, just to where you cut, feed it through the foot and voila! Anywhere between 15 minutes and 2 hours later, you have a baby hem!
If it weren’t raining and really cold in New York, I would wear my skirt out tonight, but unfortunately, it is both of those things. I promise to have better pictures up on Monday, but for now, you will have to settle for this one…plus I still have to hem the lining a little, but I already put my foot down, no baby hem on the lining!
See more pictures here!
May 12, 2010, 12.00 AMby vintagerouge
Yay Alden! Looks great!
Sep 14, 2009, 06.28 PMby alden
Hey everyone, I added pictures of the baby hem foot, at least that is what I call it, if you know it by another name let me know!
Also if you want to see more pictures of the skirt, check out my creation
1 Reply
May 10, 2010, 10.02 PMby wzrdreams
Ooooh! Thanks for those pictures of the rolled hem foot. Mine looks totally different. I’m going to have to give it another try really soon.
Sep 14, 2009, 02.23 PMby buzzybee
Great Job, the skirt looks very Rockabilly. What does a baby hem foot look like?
Sep 14, 2009, 02.13 AMby regal80
It’s beautiful, congrats! :)
Sep 13, 2009, 12.02 PMby miekekolkman
You did it! Well done after all you had to go trough!
Sep 12, 2009, 05.40 PMby willjames
good work :)
Sep 12, 2009, 04.15 PMby François Hofstede
Alden, I remember how you started. So I only can say to you. You have done an amazingly good job. Well done mylady. :)
Sep 12, 2009, 02.17 PMby wzrdreams
I have a rolled hem foot and it is completely mystifying. Mine is supposed to roll the hem in one go. What does your rolled hem foot look like?
2 Replies
Sep 12, 2009, 02.17 PMby wzrdreams
PS. Great job on the skirt! I love gingham!
May 10, 2010, 05.08 PMby ncn6
I have one too… I know how it works in theory, but I’ve never been able to make it work in practice. I probably need to practice on some scrap fabric for a while…