The Maria Apron Hem Tutorial
I’m going to show you How to Sew a Curved Hem! This is a super easy way to get a professional finish on a double turned curved hem.
You can’t help notice the beautiful sweeping curve at the hem of The Maria Apron. Because it is such a feature that curve does need to look smooth and they do need they match each other too!
This is my favourite way to make light work of turning and stitching the hem. At the time of writing I was stitching 4 stripey aprons. I was doing this factory-production-style and I found this to be the easiest way to stitch a curved hem. It gives a consistent result, so all the curves are lovely and even!
Key : WS: wrong side | S/A: seam allowance
The hem of The Maria Apron has a 1.5cm S/A that is double turned hem and footstitched. But you could do this little trick on any double turned curved hem.
Ready to hem
So here is the back of the apron, the body has been stitched, pockets in place and facings attached. Just the hem to finish.
Stitch
To help with double turning and pressing that hem, all we are going to do is add an extra row of stitching. Yep, that’s the tip – more stitching! But it does save a smidge of time as it’s a little easier to press the curve without having to constantly measure it. Start from under the back facing and machine a row of stitching 6mm from the raw edge all the way around the hem until you get to the other side. Finish underneath the facing again.
Press
Press the raw edge of the hem to the WS using the stitch line as a guide. The stitch line should just be rolled to the WS as in the picture. It folds over very neatly and evenly without too much effort!
Press again
Fold again and press so the raw edge is completely enclosed. The stitch line is now hidden.
Tack
Tack the hem close to the folded edge, making sure you keep the hem width even.
Topstitch
Footstitch the hem. To do a footstitch, line up the foot of your sewing machine with the edge of your garment and topstitch. Make sure you catch all the allowance on the back. Give it a press and you’re finished!
You could use this on any double turned curve. My maths worked as follows 1.5cm S/A – 6mm for stitch line guide, x2 for double turn hem = 1.2cm + 3mm to allow for the turn of the cloth (allowance for the thickness of the folded edges). You can easily adjust accordingly for different hem allowances but bear in mind that curved hems don’t like a very deep S/A, and fine fabrics like chiffon won’t need an extra allowance for the turn of cloth.
How to Sew a Curved Hem
And there you have it! You now know How to Sew a Curved Hem for a beautifully finished Maria Apron!
