THE Q & A SERIES - WHY USE A HEM FACING?
Hello,
I bought the Rushcutter dress pattern and I'm planning on making View A in a medium weight denim, thick but soft. I was wondering, since the fabric already has so much structure, are the hem facings necessary? Are they supposed to give extra form to the dress shape or is it more of an aesthetic detail?
Thanks for any help, I'm still a beginner but I'm looking forward to developing lots of new skills with this pattern :)
Mariana
Hi Mariana,
I am pleased to hear you will making the Rushcutter dress! It's a great pattern to use to step up your skills.
Denim is a perfect fabric choice for the Rushcutter!
Hem facings work really well with mid to heavy weight fabric as it will add a bit of extra weight to the hemline, which helps the garment and the hem sit nicely. Also, hem facings are the cleanest way to finish a curved hemline.
View B of the Rushcutter uses a turned up hem as it's designed for lightweight fabrics, which are more suitable for this kind of hem finish - but I would be hesitant to recommend this hem finish on a midweight fabric. Without having the fabric in my hand, it's hard to suggest another hem treatment you could use - if you decide to give the hem facings a miss.
I have a denim Rushcutter myself and I think it would have been quite difficult to turn up the hem without the hem facing as there ends up being quite a bit of bulk in the seams where the pockets attach.
I hope you enjoy using the pattern!
For those of you reading along at home, that would like to know more about hem facings, you can take a look at this post about drafting your own hem facing. If you would like to see how you go about attaching a hem facing, you can check out this post in the Rushcutter dress sew-along.
Happy sewing,
Emily
P.S. Would you like to know what the Q & A series is all about? This page tells you a little bit more about the motive behind the series. Past issues from the Q & A series can be found here.
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