Hemstitching is a form of drawn thread embroidery used for ornamentation on fabric, often creating lace-like designs. It was originally used to hold a hem in place, but now sewing machines can create the appearance of hemstitching. Handwoven fabrics can be woven with a hem in mind. The term “hemstitch” has different meanings in embroidery and other textile arts.
A hem is an ornamental stitch sewn into the hem of a piece of fabric or garment. Hemming is a form of drawn thread embroidery: a section of parallel threads is removed from the fabric, and the remaining perpendicular threads are bundled with additional thread to make small ornamental holes in the fabric. These holes are often designed to form designs that resemble lace. Despite its name, a hem is not limited by its nature to the edges of the fabric, but can be used for ornamentation on any section of the fabric.
Hemstitching is often used as an ornamentation for tablecloths and handkerchiefs. While any woven fabric could theoretically be folded, fabrics with strong, easy-to-remove threads often make the process easier. Basic hemming involves bundling the threads on one side of the open hole, but there are many varieties of hemming and numerous variations possible on this technique. Additional hemstitch designs include the ladder, twisted double, and the serpentine.
While hemstitching has become a primarily decorative form of sewing, it was originally used to hold a hem in place. The fabric was folded and positioned in such a way that the stitch caught its edge to create an attractive, clean hem. With technological advances, sewing machines have been invented that give the appearance of hemstitching without removing any threads.
These sewing machines rely on the tension of the sewing threads to make holes in the fabric. The holes are less easily controlled than hand-embroidered clusters, so they have a less lacy appearance, but they are quite useful for creating crocheted edges on fabric. A crochet hook is pushed through the holes to connect the crochet lace to the folded fabric.
Handwoven fabrics are often woven with a hem in mind. At the desired stitch location, a position marker is inserted into the warp. Weaving continues after the placeholder. When the project is removed from the loom, there is no need to carefully extract threads: one simply removes the placeholder and creates the desired groups.
It is important to note that the word hemstitch has meanings for both embroidery and other textile arts. Hem, more appropriately written as two words, hem stitching, is often used to refer to any type of stitch made on a hem. When following a pattern, it is important for a person to understand which of these meanings is being used. For example, a blindhem stitch is not a form of drawn thread embroidery, but rather a sewing technique. This stitch is often written as a blind hemstitch and must be properly differentiated.
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