Wednesday 18 December 2019

Challenging Sewing: Handkerchief

I can hear you asking, "do folks still use handkerchiefs?"  I sincerely hope so, since this is my latest sewing project and although it looks simple, it has proven itself to be a bit of a challenge.  


I have some left over fabric from some previous shirt projects.  The lightweight 100% cotton fabric is perfect for some handkerchiefs and I was able to cut four from the left-overs.  I pressed a tiny roll hem, changed the sewing machine needle and started mid-section on one of the sides.  Very slowly and carefully, I stitched until I came to the corners.  


With tweezers in hand and carefully trying to maneuver the corners so they didn't end up stuck under the metal plate, I still struggled.  Sure, you can't really tell unless you look closely but I just want to sew a hem that doesn't look like I'm learning how to sew a straight line.  

I'll try basting the corners with a long piece of thread hanging from each corner. This ideally will allow for something to hold onto and gentle tug from behind the presser foot and I'll see how that works out.

Happy Sewing!



3 comments:

  1. This is one of the toughest things to get a machine to do. Handkerchiefs were the first thing I was taught as a child to "heirloom sew", although not called that at the time. We did deep hemps, about 3/4 inches, and drawn threads for hemstitching. They took forever but taught us patience as well as skills. Thanks for letting me bring back that memory. For your own hankies, have you tried a baby hem? Are you using a rolled hem foot? I prefer not to. Just a thought.

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  2. I also seem to have trouble with those tiny hem corners.

    God bless.

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  3. Try mitering the corner
    It may sound more complicated especially on something so small but it makes machine stitching much smoother

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