I just finished my embroidery and realized I started off center so only left one inch between one side of the border and the edge of the cloth. Can I still hem this, or how else can I finish it? I really like the look of the drawn thread hem - is it still possible to do this?
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Thank you!
This is probably just too small a hem allowance for a drawn thread hem, especially if it's your first time with that technique (I had one of the samples for the book turn out a bit too small and had to do a 1" drawn thread hem and I wouldn't recommend it!). You have a couple of options:
Hem it with a basic hem, turned over 1/4" and then 1/4-1/2" again. You'll end up with 1/4-1/2" of the fabric visible beyond the embroidery which really makes the embroidery stand out.
You can line the embroidery with another piece of fabric, using 1/4" seam allowance. This would allow 3/4" of the fabric beyond the embroidery to remain visible. You can find this technique in the How to Line an Embroidery video on the how-to page. I've used this technique several times when I've ended up with a smaller-than-desired hem allowance.
Hope these ideas help!
Without seeing the embroidery it is hard to imagine what would be the best way to finish your project. Unfortunately the drawn thread hem just wouldn't work. Even if you did a single fold hem you still have to remove a few threads and with only one inch of material that would mean right below your last row of stitching. You could add trim, but usually handwork is finished by handwork. I might just prefer a simple, obviously narrow, hem for this piece. You can finish another project with the drawn hem.
Rachel