Things That Make You Go Hmmmm ...

I have quite a few pieces of thrifted clothing for my soon-to-be etsy store that need to be fixed up a bit. Most of them just need the hemline taken up so learning how to hem properly is really important for me. I am doing this whole process a little backwards. I have been collecting clothes for the past few months with the intention of altering them but not having a clue on how to do it. So, for my second sewing lesson we decided to go over things that make you go hmmmm ... also known as hemming.

We went over a couple different methods, a basic hem and a blind hem. The basic hem was super easy so I tried it on a pair of jeans the next day. Ill post of pictures soon of how it turned out. My sewing instructor/family friend brought over a light colored fabric and suggested using red thread to practice so we could see how much of the thread would show. Even though I would use the same color thread as the fabric in the future, the idea is to have the thread show as little as possible so using a different color is a good method for learning.

Now I realize that the pictures below might not be that exciting for most of you but just keep in mind that before this lesson, I had absolutely no clue on how to hem or even the different types of stitches.

The backside of the basic hem. A little loose and messy in areas.

The front of the basic hem. The little dots of red are what would be showing on the outside of the garment.

The backside of the blind hem. I love how clean this method looks on the inside of the garment.

The front of the blind hem. A little more of the red thread showing on this one. 

The blind hem was definitely a little trickier and much more time consuming. I feel pretty confident on the basic hem and might start working on some of my thrifted items soon but will need to practice the blind hem a lot more before I start using it. 

I felt super encouraged and motived after my lesson on Wednesday and like I already mentioned, hemmed a pair a pants the next day. Although I am the one who came up with this silly plan to learn to sew and open a store selling my creations, part of me was (and still is a little) nervous about taking on this project. I am now beginning to think that it might come together much sooner than I had hoped.