r/weaving • u/huffledawg • 1d ago
Help Question about hemming
Partway through working on this set of placemats I realized I had not done any hemstitching, so I decided to embrace the lack of hemstitch on all of them and figure things out later. Now that they're off the loom, washed, and I'm finishing things, what would be the best way to finish the ends?
My first thought was to just cut off all the fringe and do a folded hem to secure with sewing, but do really like the look of the fringe. Would adding a line of sewing on the edge where I did a few picks of tabby, with a short stitch length, be enough to secure it? Or should I give up on the fringe and fold it under for security?
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u/indiecatz 1d ago edited 1d ago
Normally when hemming is required I would weave a couple of inches of plain weave in a thinner weft yarn at each end of a piece, then I would fold the ends and machine stitch them closed. The photo doesn’t really show the hems but you get the gist..
Edit: word
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u/huffledawg 1d ago
This definitely feels like the way I'll be doing it for future projects! Part of my hesitation with the hemming now is the bulk I would get on each side. Still, it's only my first project after taking a beginning weaving course so I'm learning a lot!
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u/dreamweaver218 1d ago
I wouldn’t attempt hemstitching off the loom. If you like the fringe, I agree with the other commenter about running through each side with a dense machine zigzag stitch. Otherwise I would serge, fold over twice, and hand sew the hems. (Fringe in this case will be much easier!)
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u/No_Sprinkles9459 1d ago
Now that it is off the loom, a needle based hemstitch may be difficult.i leave that judgement to more experienced weavers. But you could just use a sewing machine to run along the fringe, in a zigzag or hemstitch.