How to Make Your DIY Drapes Look Professional

A few weeks ago I shared with you a tutorial on how to sew pinch pleat lined drapes.
When sewing my drapes I wanted them to look as professional as possible.  One of the ways I achieved this was to sew a blind hem on my drapes.

What is a blind hem?  A blind hem is a stitch that is barely visible from the right side of the fabric.  The best part is that it is easier than you would think.  If you can sew a straight line, you can sew a blind hem.

Ideally you would start with the blind hem foot that came with your sewing machine.  Here is what the foot looks like from the back...

...and the front.  If you are unsure which foot is the blind hem stitch foot, just refer to the owners manual for your machine.  Most machines come with this type of foot.  If you don't have this foot you could still do it, you would just have to guide yourself carefully to keep the line straight.

Next select the blind hem stitch on your machine.  On mine it is #17.  See how the stitch looks...that is typically the universal symbol for the blind hem stitch.

For the hem...I folded my fabric up two inches and pressed it into place.  

Then I folded it another four inches and pressed it for the final hem.  Then I pinned it into place.

Now if you were to sew the hem with a straight stitch the stitches would be visible from the front, even if you used the same color thread.  

Here comes the important part...Take your hem and fold it back as shown above.  You want there to be about 1/4" of the hem to sew on as shown.

Next, line up the fabric under your blind hem stitch foot.  Notice how the fold is lined up with the cut out part of the foot.  

I used green thread so that you could easily see the stitches.  For my actual drapes I used an off-white thread so that it completely disappeared.  Notice how only each sixth stitch catches the fold to the left.

This is all you would see from the front of the fabric (see the green dots).

Here's what the blind hem looks like on the actual drapes that are now hanging in my guest bedroom.  That's a super up-close photo.  When standing in the room you cannot see any stitches and even up close all you see is some faint dots.

It's as simple as that.  I hope now that you know how easy it is, you too will try to sew a blind hem on your next project.

I always love and appreciate your comments.  Have a great day!

-Judy