How to Hem with a Serger Blind Hem Stitch (Blindstitch Foot)

Did you know that a blind hem stitch can be sewn on a serger or overlocker on knit and woven fabrics?

The blind hem stitch makes an almost invisible stitch on the front of the project. The blind hem stitch can be used to hem pants, skirts, curtains, dresses, etc. This stitch is excellent for hemming knit fabrics.

The blind hem sewn with a serger trims and finishes the seam with an overlock stitch along with stitching the blind hem. When stitching the blind hem stitch, use either a 2-thread or 3-thread overlock stitch.  For this tutorial, I will be using a 3 thread overlock.

Sew a blind hem stitch by hand, on a sewing machine or with a serger.  This tutorial will show how to sew a hem with a serger. If you are interested in sewing the blind hem by hand or sewing a blind hem with a sewing machine we have a tutorial for you.

We have lots of serger tutorials such as corners, finishing seams, and rolled hem on our sergers & overlocking page.  Interested in projects to make with a serger or overlocker, check out our Serger Projects page for some free projects and patterns. 

Learn more about sewing a blind hem stitch with an overlocker by watching our video or keep reading this article.

Can I sew the blind hem stitch with a normal presser foot?

The blind hem stitch can be sewn with the standard serger presser foot but it’s easier to sew when using the blindstitch foot. 

To sew the blind hem stitch with a regular foot, follow these same instructions but use lines on the foot to help you guide the fabric through the serger.

What is a Blindstitch Foot?

A blindstitch foot is specially designed to stitch a perfect blind hem stitch.  The blindstitch foot for a serger is similar to the sewing machine foot.  It has a guide to help keep the soft folded fabric in place and to make the smallest stitch possible.

The photo above shows the blindstitch foot for the Bernina L450/L460 serger.  There are two sizes of blindstitch feet, .5 mm is for thin fabrics and 1mm is for medium to heavyweight fabrics.  This is a .5 mm so this tutorial will show the blind hem stitch on cotton fabric.

The foot has an adjustment knob on the top to adjust where the needle will catch the fabric.  The guide is where your fabric will feed through the foot.

WHAT YOU NEED:

• Serger
• Blindstitch Foot
• Fabric to Hem
• Thread

INSTRUCTIONS to overlock a blind hem

STEP 1: Set Up the serger to blindstitch

Remove the standard serger presser foot from the machine by raising the presser foot and pressing the small button on the back of the foot.

Place the blindstitch foot bar under the presser foot.  Lower the presser foot and then press the button again to install the blindstitch foot.

Only the right needle will be used to stitch the blind hem stitch.  Remove the left needle from the machine and slightly tighten the screw so it won't fall out.

Adjust the thread tension for stitching the blind hem stitch.  Use the following settings:

• Lower looper (red) – keep on 4 or the standard setting
• Upper looper (blue) – turn to 7
• Right needle (green) – turn to 2.5

Set the stitch length to between 2.5 – 4. I like to set it to four so there will be fewer stitches.

Set the cutting width wider than normal to 7.

Thread your serger or overlocker with thread that closely matches the fabric color.  This will help the stitches blend into the fabric and not show.

NOTE: For this tutorial, a contrasting thread is used so the stitches can be seen.

Always test this stitch with a piece of scrap fabric from your project to get the settings correct.

STEP 2: Prepare the fabric for the blind hem stitch

The pattern instructions will have a hem size.  Fold up the hem on the wrong side of the fabric the amount in the pattern instructions and iron to crease.  Use clips or pins to hold it in place.

Hold the fabric with the wrong side facing up and the folded hem facing towards you.

Soft fold the hem toward the right side of the fabric by folding the hem underneath the fabric as shown in the photo below.  Leave at least 1/4" of the raw edge hanging over the edge of the fold.

This is a soft fold hem because it's not creased.  See the soft fold hem from the side below.

The raw edge of the folded-up hem will extend past the fold on the right side. Have the raw edge extending past the fold by at least ¼”.  This edge will be trimmed and overlocked as you stitch.

STEP 2: sew the blind hem stitch

Lift up the presser foot before placing the fabric into the serger.

Insert the flat part of the soft folded fabric UNDER the presser foot and up to the cutter. The soft fold will go into the guide on the presser foot and then under the left side of the presser foot.  The fold should be up against the guide or the needle may not catch the folded fabric.

As the seam is stitched, the raw edge will be trimmed and overlocked.  The needle should only slightly catch the soft folded fabric.

Continue stitching the hem. Be sure to remove any pins or clips before sewing the hem.

If the soft fold moves away from the guide, stitches may be skipped.  During my sample sewing, I missed some stitches at the end of the seam.

STEP 3: Iron the hem

Open the hem and iron flat. If you use matching thread, the blind hem stitches will be nearly invisible.  The photo below shows the stitched hem on the front of the fabric.

On the wrong side, the raw edge is finished with an overlock seam.

We hope you enjoyed learning how to sew a blind hem stitch with a serger or overlocker machine.

Other Serger Tutorials you may be interested in are:

• Bernina L450/L460 Introduction
• Serging Corners and Securing Seams
• Bernina L450/L460 Threading Instructions
• How to sew a Napkin
• How to sew a Rolled Hem with a Serger