Hems and Raw Edges: Everything Frays Unless You Stop It

Fold the raw edge under by a small amount, press, then fold again by the hem depth and press. The cut edge is now enclosed inside the second fold and cannot fray at all. Set a seam gauge to the hem depth and use it to check every few centimetres as you fold, rather than measuring each spot with a tape. That is the marking-gauge principle from the woodworking rungs: one setting used repeatedly beats many separate measurements. Press each fold as you make it. A pressed fold stays where it is put and can then be pinned and sewn without fighting it, while an unpressed one springs open continuously and makes the whole job harder.

Slip stitch the folded edge down, catching only two or three threads of the outer fabric at each stitch and running the needle inside the fold between them. Done properly nothing shows on the right side. That is the standard finish on good work, and the published four-stitches rung has the technique in detail. Do not pull the stitches tight. A hem sewn under tension puckers, and on a curved hem — a skirt, a sleeve — the pucker gathers the excess in visible ripples. Loose and even is the target, and a curved hem needs its fullness eased in as you go rather than pulled flat.

PINKING — cutting the edge in a zigzag — stops fraying travelling far and takes seconds; it suits tightly woven fabric and nothing else. OVERCASTING by hand, a whip stitch along the raw edge, works on anything and is what was used before machines. A FLAT-FELLED seam encloses both allowances inside a fold and stitches them down, so there is no raw edge at all. It is the strongest and neatest option, it is what the side seams of jeans and work shirts use, and it takes about three times as long. A FRENCH SEAM encloses the raw edges by sewing the seam twice — once with wrong sides together, trimming, then again with right sides together so the first seam is inside. It suits fine and sheer fabrics where any finish would show through.

Loose open weaves fray fastest and need the most secure finish — overcast or flat-fell. Tight weaves fray slowly and tolerate pinking. Knits do not fray at all and need no edge finish, only a stitch that stretches with them. Test before deciding: cut a scrap, rub the edge hard between finger and thumb for a few seconds, and see how much comes away. That takes ten seconds and answers the question for that specific cloth, which no general rule can. Think about washing too. A garment washed weekly needs a finish that survives agitation for years; a wall hanging needs almost none. Matching the effort to the actual service is the judgement this rung is really about.