The dress wearer should always put on the shoes that they plan on wearing to prom. The height of the heel will alter the length of the new hem. To make it easier to pin the dress, have the person stand on a box, platform, or table. [3] X Expert Source Kpoene Kofi-BruceCouture Bridal Designer Expert Interview. 28 January 2021.
Later, the rolled hem itself will be about 1/8 inch (3 mm). If you cannot cut off the old hem while it is pinned in place, mark the new hem with a fabric pencil and take out the pins before cutting off the excess material at the bottom of the dress.
Save yourself the headache, and remove the side seams before making your hem.
The rolled hem should to be about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick. [7] X Research source Roll the fabric under so that the hem is hidden on the inside of the skirt and the raw edge is hidden under the rolled fabric of the hem. The rolled hem will almost be composed to two small rolls: one to roll the raw edge in, and the end edge rolled on top of that.
Note that if you don’t have a presser foot that snaps into place and you need to screw it on instead, you will need to do this before you insert the needle into your hem.
This curved, hooked piece will guide the raw edge and bring it under the fabric, rolling it into place as you stitch. As a result, you will not need to hand-roll the remainder of the hem; the machine should do that for you.
The raw edge of the fabric should run parallel to the left edge of the presser foot, and the folded, hemmed edge should run parallel to the right edge of the of the presser foot. If working in sections (you will be if you have side seams), you will need to start the process again with each new section.
Note that this is the recommended hemming method. Since most prom dress skirts are flared instead of straight, the material is not even all the way around the bottom. A basic hem will lead to bunching since so much material gets hemmed up. With this technique, however, you are hemming the dress using as little material as possible, so there is very little risk of bunching the fabric.
The wearer should try the dress on while wearing her prom shoes. Heel height will make a difference when determining how low the hem should go. You can simply measure the length of the hem with measuring tape and cut away from there, but if you want a more even hemline, you should mark the desired hem all the way around using straight sewing pins or a fabric pencil.
You may need to turn the skirt of the dress inside out in order to fold and press evenly. At this point, you should not put any pins in place.
The raw edge you previously folded should now be hidden along the inside of the second folded edge. Once again, make sure that the folded material will be hidden along the inside of the dress. It is recommended that you pin the new hem in place at this point. Place the pins along the hem so that the tops of the pins face toward the body of the dress and away from the edge of the hem.
Note that your sewing machine must also be set to make a blind hem stitch. Again, refer to your machine’s instructions to determine how to do this.
Note that the tops of the pins will no longer be visible, but they will be facing toward the machine from underneath the fabric.
Most of the stitches will run along the hem’s edge, and every third or fourth stitch will catch onto the main piece of fabric. Most of the stitches will go through the ¼ inch of the edge of the hem that is sticking out.
Note that a blind hem will hide more of the thread than a standard hem will, making it a better option for prom dresses and other formal dresses than a standard hem. If the skirt flares too dramatically, though, or if you create too large of a hem, you may still notice a little bunching along the folded hem.
