Ill. 251. Double Hemstitching
PLAIN HEMSTITCHING. Insert the needle in the under fold of the hem at the left-hand edge. Hold the work over the forefinger of the left hand, keeping the thumb over the thread. Take up four or five threads with the needle, and draw the needle through, holding the thread firmly by the left thumb. (Ill 250.) At the extreme right of these stitches take a short stitch in the fold of the hem, as shown in the illustration. Now take up the same number of threads as before, and repeat. Care must be taken to keep the warp and woof threads exactly parallel, especially in hemstitching a corner where the material has not been cut away.
Ill. 252. Serpentine or Faggot Hemstitching
DOUBLE HEMSTITCHING—Draw the threads as for plain hemstitching and baste the hem in the same way. Hold the hem toward you and work on the side on which the hem is turned. Insert the needle in the under fold of the hem at the extreme right and work from right to left, holding the work over the forefinger of the left hand. Hold the thread under the thumb and take up four or five threads with the needle, bringing the needle out over the thread so that it forms a loop as shown in Illustration 251. Draw this loop quite tight and take a small stitch to the left of the stitch in the fold of the hem. Now take up the same number of threads as before and repeat the hemstitching for the length of your hem. When it is finished turn your work so that the opposite side of the drawn threads is toward you. Make a second row of hemstitching in the same way, taking up the same groups of thread as before. (Ill. 251.) Take the little stitch between the groups through the edges of the material instead of through the fold of the hem as in the first row.
 Ill. 253. Preparing for Imitation Hand Hemstitching |
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SERPENTINE OR FAGOT HEMSTITCHING is worked the same as double hemstitching except that in the second row of stitches half of the threads of one cluster and half of the threads of the next cluster are grouped together, giving a slanting or serpentine effect. (Ill. 252.) For this type of hemstitching the groups must contain an even number of drawn threads so that they can be divided evenly. Otherwise the effect of the clusters will be irregular and uneven when finished.
IMITATION HAND-HEMSTITCHING can be worked on the sewing-machine. Illustrations 253 and 254 show how it can be done on the machine at home. This gives a form of hemstitching that is often used on house linen—sheets, tea-cloths, etc. Fold the material for a hem, and cut the garment off one-quarter of an inch above the sewing line. Fold blotting-paper or any soft paper to one-eighth of an inch thickness. Place the two cut edges of the garment together, as if to sew a seam. Slip the
