TUTORIAL: Calvin Klein Hem

Remember this from May 2017, my post about draping a peplum top? 

The hem of the peplum is a skinny Calvin Klein hem, so called because at one point Calvin Klein garments used it a lot, not because Calvin Klein invented it.  (I'll do a tutorial soon on the Calvin Klein hem, since I'm rather fond of it.)  

Well, "soon" has become "today"!  I was recently working on hemming a wedding dress, and decided to use the Calvin Klein hem for the sheer silk overlay.  The biggest advantage, for me, is that the hem is thin and inconspicuous.  It also looks professional, not Becky-Home-Ecky.  I got some halfway decent photos, so here is the process in pictures! 

TUTORIAL: CALVIN KLEIN HEM

STEP 1
After lightly creasing the hem-line so you know where you want the hem to end, unfold the fabric and sew a single line of machine stitching on a single layer of the skirt, a few millimeters lower than the ironed crease. 

In this picture, looking from left to right, you can see the bulk of the skirt, the crease of the ironed hem (which was opened up again after ironing!), the line of stitching, and the raw edge of the fabric. 

STEP 2
Lay the fabric right side down and iron the hem, folding the single line of stitching up (to the wrong side).  Turning a small bit of slippery or sheer fabric up by an even amount can be difficult, but with the line of stitching, it's easy because the stitches are more stable and manipulable.  Note that this fold puts the stitches on the wrong side of the fabric, the inside of the garment. 

STEP 3
Wrong side up, sew a new single line of stitches directly atop the old one.  From the wrong side of the garment you'll see two lines of stitching in the same area, but from the right side of the fabric you'll only see one (because the first line is concealed in the fold). 

To get your stitches just on the edge like this, a zipper foot is useful, or variable needle positions.  I'm using a regular foot but putting my needle to the far right. 

STEP 4
Carefully trim the raw edges away from the hem.  The scissor in this picture have curved blades, which are nice for trimming close to things, because the cutting edge is always angling away from the danger zone.  I think they're called applique scissors*.  If you don't have them, fold the hem over your finger so the raw edge sticks out but the rest is on your skin, then trim the stuff in the air. 

* I have also seen them called "medical bandage scissors", "embroidery scissors", and "cuticle" or "nose hair scissors"! 

(Yes, I did switch to a zipper foot for this pic.)

STEP 5
No iron needed this time: the relative bulkiness of the seam compared to the sheer fabric makes it easy to turn by hand!  So fold it one more time into the inside of the garment, and sew one more line of stitching on top of the previous two.  Now three lines of stitching are visible on the inside, only one on the outside.

When you're done, press your hem.  The Calvin Klein hem works well on sheers, thin fabrics, and even quilting cottons, when you want the hem to hang smoothly (no ruffly lettuce effect).  The heavier the fabric, obviously, the bulkier the hem; I'd stick with lightweight fabrics.  Also, the heavier the fabric, the more space you'll use in each turn, so start a little further from the creased hemline if your fabric is thicker.  This technique also works best on straight hems or gentle curves; if the curves are too sharp, you'll have either buckling and bunching (depending on whether the curve is concave or convex) when you turn the hem up.