For this week's Technique Tuesday, I wanted to talk to you guys about another sewing machine foot that is going to save you tons of time!
This weird looking foot is called a roll hem foot. I love using this foot when hemming lightweight fabrics. Slippery fabrics like chiffon, organza, lining material, and silks are always giving me problems. Before I discovered this nifty foot, I would have to do quite a bit of ironing, pinning, and ripping out seams before getting a nice hem. Alot of the time, it still wouldn't come out very nice looking, and I would usually burn myself from the steam of the iron!
Now the foot I'm using makes hems that are 5 mm in width (a bit less than 1/4") which I think is a great size for most projects. This size is also much easier to use than some of the smaller hemmers (some are as small as 2 mm!).
While this foot is easy to use, there are a couple of things I like to do to ensure that I get the best results! The first trick I learned to help the roll hem foot get started is to double fold your hem the width it should finish. I usually give it a little press, but this time I just finger pressed my fold into place.
Once my fabric is folded, I set my machine to a regular straight stitch. Then, I line up the fabric under my presser foot and lower my presser foot to hold the fabric in place. I then turn the hand wheel until my needle goes through the fabric and raise the presser foot back up.
If you look closely at your roll hem foot, you will notice it is shaped like a spiral and there is actually a small metal piece in the center that helps to roll the fabric on top of itself.
Now with the needle still down, we can unfold the remaining part of our fabric and lift it up and over the metal piece in the center.
Lower your presser foot and we can start sewing!
While sewing this hem, try not to tug too much on the fabric so the foot can do it job! If your hem needs a little help in rolling over, you can rotate the fabric a bit while it is feeding into the foot. I like to keep the raw edge of the fabric resting against the center metal piece of the foot.
Here's what my finished hem looks like!
Let me know, what are some of your favorite sewing machine feet?
