DIY // FLIP HEMS
These techniques are funnest to impart because of the simplicity and clear-cut avoidance of their incredible headache alternative. Both techniques are performed to answer one simple question which is: How to flip a narrow strip inside out.
As in all great questions, better reasons motivate smarter resolutions. Why narrow strips? Yarn, necklaces, drawstrings, tank straps, belts, woven articles, and the plethora of options arising from the darling mother of invention herself: necessity, of tying loose ends.
LESSON ONE: FLIP A HEM:
Materials:
pre-existing hems
dowel (long and narrow)
tiny eye-screw
drill and tiny drill bit
fabric scissors
sewing thread
sewing needle
These hems which are so frequent in the world, are already sewn shut. What once seemed so uselessly jagged once removed from the article, is actually a pre-posed "thin strip". One could easily run a safety through a ribbon, slide it through the hem and stitch along the top, proceeding as shown below in lesson 2. However, this method is less tedious on fingers and requires only a tiny bit of hand-sewing.
1. start with an eyelet screw in the end of a skinny dowel, and a hem from a t'shirt
2. enter the dowel all the way through the interior of the hem:
3. pull the fabric over the eyelet, and stitch a secure knot with thread or floss
4. reverse the hem backward over the knot, starting at the eyelet. Inverting the cord is the most difficult part. but once it is free, the fabric is easy to pull through, creating a small cord perfect for drawstrings or necklaces.
A fully inverted hem still attached to the dowel:
