I would like to share some of the useful bits I have learned over the years about what makes a successful hem on a woman's garment. It is my opinion (and YMMV), that a garment hem which dips ever so slightly in the back is far more flattering and graceful than one which rises in the back.
We, girls and women, have a little (and some not-so-little) protrusion on our posterior side, which, when we move, lift our arms, sit down, etc., tends to catch whatever we are wearing and hike it up. To combat this natural phenomena, a garment which is just slightly longer in the back to begin with will *appear* to hang correctly even after hours of sitting-standing-bending-lifting babies, etc., and obviate the need to constantly be tugging at the back of our garments.
That said:
IMHO, by far the nicest hem is a hand sewn blind-stitched, or hand stitched rolled hem, but for sports wear, jeans, and some casual skirts, a twice-turned-machine-stitched hem is perfectly acceptable, and when sewing for profit, a machine blind-stitched hem makes perfect sense.
On a narrow skirt, I prefer a two-inch deep hem, which provide a bit of weight and helps the skirt hang nicely. But for a flared skirt either a 1" to 1.5" hand blind-stitched hem or 3/4" to 1" twice-turned machine stitched hem, or a hand rolled and stitched hem works better. For the silk dress I made for the National Singer Sewing Contest in 1954, Mom marked the hem, and I did a narrow hand rolled narrow hem on both the silk-organza and the silk taffeta lining, making the lining about 1/2" shorter all around. I'll add details on the method for making a narrow hand rolled hem another time. I have also successfuly done narrow-rolled hems on my sergers.
For marking a hem, I always insist that THE ACTUAL SHOES TO BE WORN WITH THE GARMENT ARE WORN. I have a couple of different methods for marking, depending on the length of the garment, but in all cases I have the person stand at the top of my stairs, and I kneel two steps down (on carpet), so that I am about eye-level with the hem. (If stairs are not an option, build a small platform, but be sure it is sturdy and has a rail of some sort. Standing semi-still for twenty minutes is enough to make some people light headed.) If you have very high ceilings, the person could stand on sturdy table, if a short set of stairs is available, but again be sure there is some sort of support for her to grab.
Establish where the person wants the hem to fall, and adjust the hem-marker to place pins at the height. I use my Mom's
40s hem marker, like this oneAsk the person to stand straight (but not exaggeratedly so), chin up, shake their hands and then hold them just slightly away from their sides so as to avoid touching the fabric. Once you start, TELL THEM YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING, THEY DON'T HAVE TO LOOK DOWN! ;-) Everyone seems to do that, and it changes the way the garment hangs. Once they are standing properly again, you can begin.
I always start at one side seam, pinning about every 3" to
4", asking the person to turn clockwise every quarter. (No, I don't know why clockwise, except that I'm right handed so adjust as necessary). Then to be sure all is even, I check every pin a second time, and make any necessary adjustments. There is bound to be some variation, as the person is turning. It would work better if I had a heavy-duty Lazy-Susan for this job. ;->For floor length gowns, I establish the desired length while she is standing on the floor first (and in her shoes, of course), then elevate her on a short stack of sturdy coffee-table books so that the skirt fabric DOES NOT TOUCH the floor (excepting a train if there is one). I usually mark long gowns using a piece of 6" cardboard (I collect bias tape cards for this purpose) with a notch cut for the marking spot, and pin carefully, again every 3" to 4".
Once I have the pins in place, I drape the skirt on my ironing board, and mark the cutting line with tailor's chalk, setting the slider of a 6" ruler at the hem depth, and making a chalk mark the hem allowance depth below and to
*each side* of *every* pin (that provides marks every 1.5" to 2" apart). I extend the depth slightly for the back, adding 1/4" at center back, and blending back to the normal hem allowance at each side seam, then continue on around the front. Some of those marks will invariably be off a bit, but you can eye-ball adjustments as you cut off the excess fabric.If you are working with satin, or any other fabric which tends to show edge marks on the right side when pressing, use thick paper, cut to a curve for a flared skirt, between the hem allowance and the wrong side of the skirt while pressing up the hem allowance.
For a straight skirt, clean-finish the raw edge, lightly press up the hem and pin baste, then blind-stitch, either by hand or machine.
For a flared skirt, run a row of longer (6 to 10 SPI depending on how fine or bulky the fabric is) machine stitches 1/4" (3/8" for a twice-turned hem) from the raw edge, breaking the thread at each seam. Then pull up the bobbin thread, leaving three to four inches of the exact center front and back (and each center section of a gored skirt) *without* gathers. The reason for that is the CF And CB are the on the straight grain, and will not "ease". Over-pull the gathers, you'll let them back out as you steam the hem allowance up, and press out the ease. Serge the raw edge, then pin baste the hem.
From there, it depends on how the hem will be stitched. I like to do a hand blind stitch on most things. But for others, a machine blind-stitch or top stitch is fine.
For a twice-turned hem, I press up the entire hem allowance, then press the 3/8" raw edge under, pin baste and machine stitch from the wrong side.
I may add this to my site, with some pictures. I welcome comments and questions.