How To Sew A Hem Facing On A Circle Skirt
I've got a project I'm working on that has been giving me a headache. I've been itching to make a half-circle skirt but the hemline is just not turning out as I would like. It really is impossible to sew a ‘regular' hem when the bottom of the skirt is so curved. Usually, on a skirt, I would turn in half an inch and press, and then turn up another inch, inch and a half or even two inches on the bottom of a regular skirt, and sew.
But that's not going to work on a circular hemline simply because the length of the hem around the outside is longer than the length of the fabric you are turning into, so it's never going to lie flat.
Now you can sew a teeny tiny hem, by pressing up tiny 1/8th inch amounts and using a rolled hem foot. But the way my iron spews boiling hot water and steam randomly out of the front exactly where my fingers are, I didn't fancy my chances, and neither do I own the rolled hem foot. And I really wanted a wide hem on this project.
So the only way to do this is with a hem facing. The same as you can sew a facing to the neckline or armhole of a dress to get a neat finish and hide the raw edges, you can also sew a facing to the hemline of a circle skirt! Who would have thought it? But it's not difficult and creates a beautiful finish, even on lightweight fabrics, and it creates the wide hemline I was looking for.
You might want to check this Proper Care of Wool Clothing: Tips & Tricks.
