Homemaking for Little Ones - Stitching a Hem

Learning to hem is a little harder than sewing on buttons but once the pattern has been established it becomes very easy.

There are several ways to stitch a hem but I am going to show how to do a catch stitch because it is neater looking (only a tiny bit of thread shows on the "front" side of the material; plus it is less tedious than the other stitches. This will be easier to teach if the child has learned to tie a bow – this will help them understand about taking the needle and thread under another strand of thread.

As with the buttons, it is helpful to use a contrasting fabric and thread.

Fold your material and press or pin the hem. (If you pin the hem be sure to use safety pins until your child is older and can learn how to avoid being stuck by straight pins.)

Using a fabric marker/pencil or regular pencil, mark a series of pairs of dots. One dot will be on the fold of the hem and the second will be off set, slightly to the right, on the piece of fabric to which the folded part will be attached.

Start with the pair of dots being approximately an inch from each other.

Thread the needle. It is okay to use a double strand (both ends are knotted together) for learning purposes but as the child becomes more adept at handling a needle and thread they should be taught how to use a single strand (only one end is knotted).

Begin by showing the child how to use the dots – start with the dot that is on the underneath piece of fabric – go into this dot and come up through the dot on the folded piece...

pull thread through until approximately 1 inch is left...

Slip the needle and thread through this thread...

and pull until no longer loose.

You have just “caught” the thread; hence the name – Catch Stitch.

Move over to the next pair of dots and proceed. The hardest part will be teaching your child to catch the thread. It helped the girls by telling them to leave a hill (the small bit of thread left when you come through the second dot) and that the needle was going to go under the hill to finish the step. Be patient – if you have to show them a few times it is okay – they will get it!

Once they have mastered the catch the stitch then they can work on placing the stitches closer together and then making even stitches without the dots.

Older children can also learn to hide the thread by running the needle
through the folded crease between each catch.

The catch stitch can be practiced on homemade hankies or napkins (my daughters’ favorite), doll dresses, or even hems on their own clothes.

If you have any questions or need a step described in more detail please let me know!

(Note: For general sewing I place my catch stitches approximately ½ to ¾ of an inch apart.)