I had a serger on my wish list for a long time.  Until that happy day I actually purchased one, I would longingly admire the beautiful rolled hems I thought only possibly accomplished with this miraculous machine.  Much to my pleasant surprise, I was wrong about that!  You do NOT need a serger to accomplish a rolled hem.  If you have a zig zag stitch, some patience, and a whole lot of thread, you can mimic the beautiful rolled hem a serger will give you.  The Kaleo refresh is the perfect time to learn how to do a rolled hem–with or without a serger!

Full disclosure–it can take some practice to get this technique to look right.  It’s not as fast as a serger.  However, the narrow rolled hem technique has been around for a long time.  So long, in fact, it’s commonly used in machine heirloom sewing.  So how does one accomplish this sorcery?  Let’s jump right in!

Step 1:  Select a zigzag stitch.  You will want to have a fairly wide zigzag with a short stitch length.  If you are familiar with an applique stitch, your stitches will pretty much be the same.  Make sure your needle and bobbin thread match

Step 2:  Place your fabric so the right swing of the needle just clears the raw edge.  

Step 3:  Take some stitches on practice fabric.  If your fabric is positioned correctly, you will notice that the needle and thread will roll  the fabric in on the left needle swing.  If your stitch length is short enough and your width is fairly wide, you should notice something starting to resemble a rolled hem!

Step 4:  You might notice some frayed bits or little gaps in the hem.  I usually go around twice just so everything looks nice and smooth.

Now that I have a serger, do I ever use this technique?  Heck no.  However, in solidarity I *did* use this technique to roll the entire hem on my Kaleo bottom tier ruffle.  So if you are without a serger and you want a rolled hem, give this a try and let us know how it goes! 

We can’t wait to see all those gorgeous ruffly Kaleos!!