Going up and over a jeans hem can be a little intimidating, but with a few helpful tricks
of the machine and tools that come with the machine like the multipurpose tool, you’ll
actually find yourself going, “Ah, I can do that.” First what I’m going to do is
take two pieces of denim and using a 15mm seam allowance just go ahead and stitch those
together. I’m also going to show you how to do a little top stitching before we get
into the hem because there is a great way to cheat with this machine. What I’m going
to do you open this up and then I set my seam over here to the left side and then I’m
going to kind of finger press it open. I might take it to the iron and press it too, but
what I’m going to have you do is reach into your accessory box and pull out your blind
hem foot.
This is a cheat foot, this is not to be used all the time. The true foot you really want
is the edge joining foot which has the blade inside right down the middle to keep you guided,
but if you don’t have this yet, because that is the one foot whenever I take a new
machine home to sew on this foot has to go with me because I use it that much, it is
the priority foot; but in a pinch the blind hem foot has a high side and a low side to
the foot, two different levels that’s why you can’t use it all the time and of course
we’ll have a video on how to use it as a real blind hem. It’s your 'd' foot.
What I’m going to do is I’m going to take this seam right here and I’m going to put
one side of the foot, the Y toe side, on here, that’s the low side, and the other toe is
going to go on the high side because that’s right now where all three seams are going
to be sitting. We're going to move our needle position all the way over so go to the sewing
information and then bring that all the way over till it says a minus 3.5 and then touch
your presser foot down button two times so you can jiggle the fabric and get it exactly
where you want it to be. By the way, lengthen you’re your stitch out to 3 or 3 ½. If
you leave it at the default setting, unless you've already gone ahead and told that you
are sewing on denim, those stitches are going to look really small.
Then all you have to do is take your hands, pull open that seam, and run that right down
the middle of where those two toes are coming together. What you are going to get is a beautiful
top stitch feature. Again, really looks professional when you have a guide. See how nice and even
that is? Now to actually doing our hem, we are going to go ahead and switch back to our
A foot and our center needle position. I’m going to reselect a seam and make sure that
I’m on woven heavy fabric because now we make the seam a little bit longer. This is
where you’ve probably turned up your fabric two times and right now we have nine layers
underneath this one really thick layer.
It’s tempting, after you get this all pressed and pinned where you want it to be, to stitch
on the backside so you can see where you're going. It is advised that because this is
top stitching we sew from the topside. Flip that over, you can again utilize one of your
guides on your throat plate here to keep you straight, but really once you are going you
are going to have a prettier stitch if you stitch from the top side. Of course you have
your denim needle in as you are going through this. What happens when you get to this really
thick area is you find yourself the foot starts to go up in the air and you start to get little
tiny stitches. This is where the multipurpose tool comes in to play.
Set your needle so it stops in the down position. You’ll notice that on one side it’s a
little thinner and the other side it's a little thicker. Depending on how thick it is you
need to be going over this, let me see if I can slide this in … I can use the thinner
side on this. You're going to take the tool and if you need a little help lift up the
foot but leave the needle down, so that holds your stitcher on, take the tool you are coming
underneath the foot and right up to where the seam stops. When you lower down that presser
foot you're going to notice that the foot is level with the big seam, like you're on
the plateau of the thickness. Just like they move the ships through the Panama Canal, that’s
what you're doing. YYou're lifting ship up, you are sliding across at the top part. Now
you’ll have even pressure and even stitches, that’s what you are going for.
Before you go sliding off the edge and you get that long stitch that jumps forward, take
the tool, bring it around the front side, and like you're stitch … you are stitching
right on to those ski toes there, just go ahead and stitch far enough that when you
stop and the foot lifts the back part of the foot is going to come down on level ground
and then you’ll continue on. No fuss no muss, it’s very easy to go ahead and do
this. Your tool is helpful, make sure you reach for it on a regular basis; another reason
to use the tools that come with your machine. Look, perfect stitching right across the thickest
part of your project.