Yesterday, I received in the mail a piece of wool gauze from commenter Alison, who had offered to send it to me so I could proceed with this project (thanks, Alison!).
Alison's fabric is a pale gray and just barely large enough for the shortish veil I'd planned to make. I can only afford to snip off fragments to even out the edges before hemming it--and the hem will need to be narrow.
Then, I did some experimenting with Eithni's directions, using a contrasting thread (since I planned to pull these stitches out and start over if the technique worked). Eithni's tutorial concludes: "The finished hem will only show the tiny little stitches. The long
stitches all get rolled into the middle of the seam!"
That's true, as far as it goes; the long parts of the stitch do get rolled into the middle of the seam. But the ragged edges I need to cover tend to show, in lumps, at the bottom of the finished hem. That's exactly what I was trying to avoid.
So I started looking on the Internet again, this time for techniques to produce rolled hems on fraying fabric. I found this one on Laura Parker's blog. Laura's technique involves taking the thread first through the fabric on the wrong side of the fabric, and then through the fold you have made, effectively pinning the fold to the place where you start your thread. That's a really bad description, but Laura's photos make it clear what's going on. It makes a somewhat thicker hem than I'd hoped, but maybe that's unavoidable with a fabric that frays.
I found a pale gray Gutterman silk thread that is an excellent match for the fabric's color. I may be able to get started today.
That's true, as far as it goes; the long parts of the stitch do get rolled into the middle of the seam. But the ragged edges I need to cover tend to show, in lumps, at the bottom of the finished hem. That's exactly what I was trying to avoid.
So I started looking on the Internet again, this time for techniques to produce rolled hems on fraying fabric. I found this one on Laura Parker's blog. Laura's technique involves taking the thread first through the fabric on the wrong side of the fabric, and then through the fold you have made, effectively pinning the fold to the place where you start your thread. That's a really bad description, but Laura's photos make it clear what's going on. It makes a somewhat thicker hem than I'd hoped, but maybe that's unavoidable with a fabric that frays.
I found a pale gray Gutterman silk thread that is an excellent match for the fabric's color. I may be able to get started today.
Good luck! It sounds like a challenge, but I have no doubt you'll succeed.
ReplyDeleteAw, thanks. It's good to feel that someone is reading about what I here from the other side of the Internet. :-)
DeleteSounds challenging
ReplyDelete