ZJ Humbach

Serger Session 6: Hemming Stitches

ZJ Humbach
Duration:   10  mins

Description

Discover how easy it is to add professional finishes to your projects using the 3-thread narrow edge or rolled hemming stitches and how to do a delicate 2-thread rolled hem that is so popular for heirloom work. Learn when to use each application and which threads to use.

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One Response to “Serger Session 6: Hemming Stitches”

  1. Christine Giles

    your serger looks more complex than the basic one I've got....

For this final segment, I want to show you some techniques for doing hemming or hemmed edges, rather. The first one I'm going to show you is the three thread narrow edge hem followed by the three thread, rolled hem. These hems are wonderful for the edges of ruffles. And what I like to use the for, primarily, are for napkins. And also I make little kerchiefs for my dogs.

We call them snazzies. And a lot of times I will double the fabric so that they are a little bit stronger, more durable and then I will finish it with a narrow edged rolled, or narrow edged hem. So I want to show you how to do that. Today, I am putting on the 12 weight thread so that you can see that it's a more distinctive edge to your finish. Although you can use the wooly nylon, you could use the, a regular thread.

You have choices on it. But I find that I really, really liked the 12 weight. So what I've done is set us up for narrow hemming. And this one has a few changes to it. On this one, you can use either the B or the C stitch selector.

They both work equally well. And quite frankly, I can't tell a difference between them. We're using the right needle because it is the narrow three thread. We're going to put our stitch length anywhere from two and a half to three and a half, so we can vary it. You can actually go down a little bit further if you want more of a satin edge finish, and I'll show you that.

We've got our width set to the narrow. We want to put our differential feed up to neutral and we've got our knife unlocked so we can get a nice edge. So let's show you how this works. And I think you're going to really like this. I know it's one of my favorites.

This is on about a one. This is, oftentimes, where I will finish it so that you get that nice, satiny look. But let's take it up to a two and you can see what happens when you stretch it out. And even to a three. I don't typically go much beyond the three because it just, to me it just doesn't look as nice.

In this particular case, I use two different colors, so that if this was a napkin and you turned it over, you would have a different look for the backside of your napkin. Or you can do two threads the same color. I do do my needle thread as close as possible to the upper looper though, so that it stays fairly invisible. But again, you can see how that's a very nice finish. You aren't going to get any raveling through it.

This has a little bit more of a lacy look. When you start getting out here, you start seeing more of the loops. It's personal preference. I like how either the satin edges or this one that I did at about a two, because it does seem to lay flatter when I start using the longer stitch on a woven fabric, it starts to ruffle a little bit more. So now I want to go over, we're gonna, this time, we're definitely using our book.

We're going to go over to page 67. I want to show you a three thread rolled hem. And this one gets set up just a little bit differently. For this one, we're going to go down to our D stitch. It's just a little bit different stitch selection.

We're still having the right needle. And we are going to come over to our rolled hem area. And for me, that's turning this knob all the way down. Again, on your machine, it may be a little bit different or in a different place or it may even be a computer setting. You just need to check your owner's manual and follow those instructions.

And I've got a thread here that's coming out of it's thread path. Oops. I'm not left-handed so bear with me. There we go. And then the differential feed, instead of being at the neutral position, we are going to go down anywhere between a 0.6 and neutral.

And we balance that based on how much the, fabric is rippling. We can leave our blade unlocked and we're all set to go. So this is the three thread rolled hem and the fabric should actually roll under. And this is on about a two, and I can adjust it down a little bit tighter if I want. So I get more of the satin stitch.

And I think you can see why this is my favorite for a napkin, because it is just a beautiful edge finish. And on the backside, that's what it looks like. You will have no raveling. Very professional finish. As nice as anything you'll find in the store.

So that is the three thread. The main difference between the three thread and the two thread rolled hem is that this is more durable. You've got that extra Looper thread in there. So you've got more thread. Primarily the two thread rolled, I find is better for your very sheer fabrics, very, very lightweight fabrics.

It's wonderful for wedding veils. It's wonderful for, heirloom clothes or children's clothes out of very light, lightweight summer fabrics. So, let me get set up and I'll show you how that beautiful two thread rolled hem looks in just one second. As I said before, the 12 weight thread that we just finished using, does give a more pronounced edge. It's very durable and it holds up well to washing and steam ironing, which is why I particularly like it on napkins.

And it's probably less apt to pull out. But there are times when you want that delicate, two thread rolled hem. For the two thread rolled hem, you want to use just the regular polyester serger thread. You will put it in the right needle and on the lower looper. And looking at our guide here, it tells me first to go to the quick reference threading guide which is a wonderful little tool that I have in the toolbox that I use all the time that shows you exactly where the thread has to go, which cones of thread to use, and shows the thread path very, very clearly.

So we're going to set that up for the three thread flat lock, which we haven't done before. And then we're also going to have the stitch selection D. We're going to be in the neutral differential feed. We're going to be on a stitch length of about a one to one and a half. And then we will have a stitch width setting of an M, which is having to do with the rolled edge on my particular machine.

But most importantly, we need to come in here and on the subsidiary looper, we need to engage it. Remember, that's that little piece right here, that flips up and in your machine, it may be a cap that actually fits over the looper. Again, check your owner's manual. But on mine, I just bring it up and I make sure that it's in the hole there. And you can hear that little click.

So once it's in, make sure that you're locked in there, nice and tight. And we're going to get ready to stitch this. This is particularly good for chiffons and for, heirloom stitching. And this is actually, I should call it a rolled edge. You can see where it's got kind of a little bubble there and it has started to roll.

Now, while I am somewhat of a purist with following the books, sometimes it's a little fun to experiment. So if you feel like going outside of the lines when you color, go ahead and change, keep everything the same, but let's go over to the rolled him setting and go on about a one. And I want to show you the difference that this will make. And now you can see how narrow and tiny you can get that rolled hem. And I can just picture that on some little baby christening gown or any type of heirloom sewing.

So this is with your two thread. You're only using two, so it is not durable at all. It's very, very delicate. But for certain applications, it's absolutely the right selection. So, now you're armed with the basic needs, the basic information to go out and pull that serger out and start having fun.

You have your skills for doing basic construction and I hope you'll get enthusiastic about your serger and start using it instead of letting it just sit there and collecting dust.

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