How To Hem A Pleated Chiffon Dress

A pleated dress is usually the go-to fashion for many girls and women. Like in any other clothes, the dress’s size will matter, and at one point, you may want to alter the length to fit you much better. If you want to get the chiffon dresses the right look, you need to deal with the right length from it.

You can hem a pleated chiffon dress, and there are several ways to do this. After this post, you will learn the different ways of hemming a pleated chiffon dress and some useful tips you can use when hemming.

Can You Hem a Pleated Chiffon Dress?

Yes, you can alter the length of a pleated chiffon dress. There are ways you can use for hemming the pleats. However, this hemming process may not be as easy since you have to deal with wrinkles.

But the best thing to do when hemming is to start at the top. It will ensure that the pleats remain intact and are neat.

How to Hem Pleated Chiffon by Hand?

Hemming chiffon may be quite tricky for many. Mainly because the material that makes it is usually light and pretty delicate to handle. Now considering that your material still has wrinkles, you have to ensure that you leave them neat.

You can hem a pleated chiffon dress by hand. But as you do it, ensure you do the work slowly and carefully so that the seams are even. Here is how you do it:

Step 1: Make a Straight Stitch on the Raw Edge

Start by threading your needle with light and matching thread to the color of your chiffon dress. Next, make a straight stitch across your hem.

The stitch should be about 1/4 inch from the raw edge. The stitch will be at the bottom of your hem, which helps maintain an even roll.

After making the hem, trim the edge. There should be a distance of about 1/8 inch between the line you make and the raw edge.

Step 2: Fold the Raw Edge

Make a fold on the raw edge. The fold should head onto the wrong side of your fabric. Then firmly press on the fold with an iron. Pressing the fold to ensure that the hem does not unroll when making your stitches.

Ensure that this fold lies just past your initial thread line. Also, ensure that you can see the initial stitching along the underside of your chiffon dress and not from the front.

Step 3: Make a Few Stitches

Once you make the fold, grab one thread from the fabric and one small stitch from the edge of the fold. Then, pull the needle out of the edge without pulling it tightly.

Make sure that the stitch you make on your fold is very close to the actual fold. Also, place it between the first stitch line and the fold.

When grabbing the threads, you should use a small and sharp needle. It is much easier to pick up the single threads with it. Also, when picking the threads, be sure to pick the ones that are directly above the stitch of your fold. They should also be just above the raw edge and only pick one or two threads from the fabric.

Step 4: Make More Stitches Following the Same Steps

Ensure that each stitch picks up one or two threads from the fabric. The spacing between the stitches should be about 1/4 inches apart. Continue picking up the threads and stitch until you stitch about 1 or 2 inches of the hem.

Step 5: Pull the Thread Through

Pull the thread gently, following the direction where you are making stitches. Once you do this, the raw edge should spin itself down to your hem. Tightly pulling the thread may make it cluster together.

Step 6: Stitch Along the Rest of the Hem

Make more stitches along the entire hem. After reaching the end, make a knot on the thread and cut any excess of it. Ensure that your raw edge hides along the wrong side of the fabric, and the stitches should not be visible on the right side.

Step 7: Iron the Hem

You can make the hem more secure by ironing it.

How to Hem Pleated Chiffon With a Sewing Machine?

You can also hem your pleated chiffon dress using a sewing machine. The process should be easy and should help you produce a neat hem at the end. Here is how you do it:

Step 1: Make a Basting Line Along the Edge of Your Chiffon Dress

Sew an even line along the raw edge of your chiffon dress with your sewing machine. It should be about 1/4 inch from the raw edge. The line comes in handy when folding so that you can hem. Moreover, it makes the edge tight and will make folding later on easy.

You can also increase the thread tension in one place further and once you finish making the basting line, restore the tension to normal.

Step 2: Fold the Edge

Start by turning the raw edge to the wrong side. Then fold the edge along the basting line. Once you make the fold, ensure that it is intact by passing on hot iron along the fold.

When folding, ensure you hold the fabric tight along the basting line. Also, press on the fold as you go. You do not want the material to stretch, so move the iron up and down the fold. Ensure the steam on the iron is much when pressing the fold in place.

Step 3: Start Sewing

Once you make the fold, use your sewing machine to sew inside the folded edge. Next, make another line all around the edge of your chiffon.

This line should be about 1/8 inch from the folded edge. The line basically will guide you through when making the fold in the hem for the last time.

Step 4: Trim the Raw Edge

Trim the raw edge, and your trimming point should be close to the new sewing line. When cutting, also, do not cut below or along with the stitches you have made.

Step 5: Fold the Hem

Flip over your chiffon dress to the wrong side. Ensure the turn you make is enough to make a fold on the raw edge. Then secure the fold in place by pressing it on an iron.

Ensure you also fold in the second line of stitching you made before. At this point, you can still see your first line of stitch.

Step 6: Stitch Around the Hem

Make stitches around the hem and ensure you make them along the edge of the hemline. You should be able to see two lines of stitches from the back and one from the front.

Once you finish stitching, do not back-tack the hem in place. Also, leave some thread at the end of the seam that you will make a knot on by hand.

Step 7: Iron on the Hem

To secure the stitch in place, iron the hem.

How to Hem Pleated Chiffon With Rolled Hem Presser Foot?

You can also achieve a good-looking hem using a rolled hem presser foot. Here is how you do it:

Step 1: Link the Rolled Hem Presser Foot to Your Sewing Machine

Your sewing machine manual should guide you on how to change the presser foot from the normal one to the rolled hem presser foot. Ensure you select a good rolled hem presser foot.

The good one will allow you to make rolled hems using various stitches such as the straight stitch, zigzag stitch, and decorative stitch.

Step 2: Make Basting Line Stitches

Start by lowering the presser foot. Then make a line with the standard stitches. The line should be about 1/2 to 1 inch long and 1/4 inches above the raw edge. Leave out some amount of thread after stitching the line.

Step 3: Guide the Chiffon Dress Into the Presser Foot

Feed the edge of the chiffon dress into the presser foot. Next, insert the edge of the dress along with the guide of the presser foot. As you do this, be sure to bend the raw edge over from one side. Also, bend it under on the opposite side.

Ensure the presser foot remains up as you guide the dress into it. Then lower it once you finish.

Step 4: Sew the Hem

Sew along the edge of the chiffon slowly and stop once you reach the end

Step 5: Iron the Edge

Once you finish sewing the hem, iron the edge of the chiffon gently. Be sure to press it down to make it as flat as possible.

Things To Note When Hemming Pleated Chiffon Dress

1. Start With One End

When hemming a pleated dress, ensure you deal with one panel at a time and hem one pleat individually. Then deal with the pleated seams.

2. Press Well

When pressing the seam, ensure you leave the hemline open. You should also remove the overlock stitches from the seam.

3. Remove Wrinkles

Before you start hemming, ensure you get rid of all the wrinkles.

4. Determine the Right Size

Ensure that you determine the size of a hem you want to create. So, wear the skirt first and determine the size before ironing out the wrinkles.

5. Check the Needle Size

Ensure you are using the right needle size when dealing with chiffon fabric. It needs to be sharp and straight.

Can You Shorten Pleated Chiffon Dresses?

You can shorten the pleated dress using various methods, but you need to get the steps right. Ensure that you mark first where you want a hem to appear. Then mark the place with pins which should be about 3/4 to 1 inch from the edge.

Also, before hemming, you need to fold the edge and press it on firmly. Then after sewing, you also need to press on the creases.

What Kind of Hem Do You Use for Pleated Chiffon Dresses?

You can use various kinds of hems, but the most common one is the rolled hem. You can also use the narrow hem on a serger.

When using the rolled hem on chiffon, you must first ensure you stitch the first roll under at about 1/2 inch fold. You should then trim the excess edge by about 1/8 inches. Then make another role and topstitch it.

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Jessica

I'm Jessica Flores, a professional fashion designer and an expert seamstress.

Crafting has always been a deep-seated passion of mine, one that has flourished and evolved over the years.

I've dedicated considerable time to both studying and practicing in the realm of fashion and sewing, amassing a wealth of experience and skills.

It brings me great joy to share these insights and experiences with you all, hoping to inspire and foster a similar passion for the art of sewing.

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