Going in circles
Wednesday, Sep 6, 2006
My husband makes fun of me whenever I read a map. To navigate each turn, I have to turn the map in my hand. This is hilarious to him. He’s an engineer, and I’m right brained. What’s worse, I usually have to ask him for help in the end.
There are certain markers that define an expert in his field. For example, if you are a New Testament scholar, then you probably know Greek. If you are a serious gardener, you can grow more than zucchini. If you are a diehard homeschooler, then you have a detailed map of free and discounted merchandise within a 30-mile radius. It’s just the way things are.
This brings me to my point. Every seamstress should know how to sew a blind hemstitch. (If you are a guy, turn under the hem of your suit pants. There.) This stitch requires more time, but the results are très professionnel. Besides, I don’t shy away from doing hard things.
The blind hemstitch has eluded me for years. After studying several detailed diagrams, I twisted, pulled, and contorted the fabric into hundreds of configurations. I ripped out seams and broke needles. I just couldn’t wrap my brain around the concept even when I turned the fabric. It was hopeless…until yesterday.
I finally stumbled upon the special, tricky way to fold the fabric. I suppose I could’ve asked my personal rocket scientist to explain the diagram, but that would’ve been too easy. Besides, I like turning stuff in circles. I can navigate these issues all by myself. Sort of.
~ Ecclesiastes 4:9, NIV
20 Comments
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I’m a budding seamstress still learning the lingo…you’re scaring me!
Comment by Leslie (September 6, 2006 @ 4:25 pm )
Hey, congratulations. I love the (what’s it called again?) blind hemstitch. It’s my favorite. It took me a long, long time to master it.
Comment by Tim Challies (September 6, 2006 @ 4:38 pm )
Oh Amy! I’m in the same boat: Right-brained, engineer husband (civil) and can’t get the blind hem stitch. How did you finally figure it out?
Comment by Debbie (September 6, 2006 @ 4:48 pm )
Actually, the blind hemstitch is one of the very few stitches I can do! Congratulations on mastering it.
Comment by Birdie (September 6, 2006 @ 4:49 pm )
I studied this picture until my brain fell out. The thing that helped this time is that I didn’t have a raw edge I was trying to conceal. (The skirt already had a hem in it.) This made one less fold, so I got it.
Yeah, yeah, I try to clear out the guys from the site every now and then.
Comment by Amy Scott (September 6, 2006 @ 5:06 pm )
Ack, here’s the link.
Comment by Amy Scott (September 6, 2006 @ 5:10 pm )
Thanks for the link! Now if you could just translate pattern directions for me (they are in a foreign language, you know - foreign to me, anyway) then I’ll be all set.
Comment by Calla Lilly (September 6, 2006 @ 7:07 pm )
To navigate each turn, I have to turn the map in my hand. lol! I have been labeled “navigationally challenged” by friends.
Comment by Natalie (September 6, 2006 @ 7:09 pm )
My husband (electrical engineer) threatened to sew the pants himself and then I felt horribly guilty so I hand sewed the seam back together. I hate sewing, to be totally honest. I’d rather just go out and buy a new pair of pants.
I don’t do blind stitches!!
Comment by Janet (September 6, 2006 @ 7:24 pm )
I have better luck hemming by hand. The machine seems to pucker up the fabric–even when I ask a friend of mine who is very proficient to do it for me. I don’t mind doing it by hand. Maybe I’m odd.
Do you use french seams? I love them. They make clothes come out so nice, and they are smooth against baby skin. And they are so much easier than they look. And they use less thread than other ways of finishing a seam allowance. I love them.
I’m so glad your baby is OK. Once my littlest boy’s temperature went up to 105, and he asked me why the ceiling was green (it wasn’t). I just put my hands on him and prayed to Jesus while I was on hold for the doctor. The Lord brought the fever down before we had to take him to the hospital (and he wasn’t vomiting) but it was scary. I can imagine how frightening your experience was. God is good.
Comment by ruth (September 6, 2006 @ 9:04 pm )
I used to be like that with turning the map.
Although, I did use to get to the destination without having to ask for help! However, I have found that it is possible to train yourself out of turning the map…at least, I can do it now. 
Comment by Kristy (September 7, 2006 @ 12:53 am )
Well, I’ll have to check out the blind hemstitch since I sew. I think I used to have a presser foot that did that; I should look it up.
Left brain husband/right brain wife–sounds like me and mine. (He’s an engineer, too. I’m a writer. He gets very frustrated that I can’t read a map. I also can’t give directions…but if I get behind the wheel, I can get where I want to go).
Two halves make a whole brain!
Comment by Mom2fur (September 7, 2006 @ 9:33 am )
my mom used to use the blind hem stitch a lot. it did pucker a bit, but once it was ironed, it was fine. i sew…A LOT, but have always had trouble mastering the fold. thanks for the link to the diagram. now, if i HAVE to do a blind hemstitch, i know where to find a photo of the diagram:) you can whip out a hem in no time when you master that. i guess the key is to use it often! martha
Comment by martha (September 7, 2006 @ 9:57 am )
I cannot sew. at all. not one lil stitch.
so I am TOTALLY envious of you sewing gals….
and I can’t read a map no matter which way I turn the map. (brain damage from a stroke) so hubby bought me a Garmon GPS for my car. I love that thing!
but man, I wish I could sew….
Comment by suzanne (September 7, 2006 @ 10:41 am )
I’ve never done a French seam, but it seems pretty easy. It looks like a very good alternative to a serger, especially if you don’t own one! (I own one, but it’s so cranky that I don’t use it anymore.)
Comment by Amy Scott (September 7, 2006 @ 11:04 am )
Congratulations!! I grappled with that same weird fold for years, but once it’s mastered, it’s mastered forever. Sort of like riding a bike!
Comment by Copper's Wife (September 7, 2006 @ 11:33 am )
As a guy, I have to admit. I don’t even understanding the basic terminology involved with sewing. Thank God for wives!
Comment by Aaron D. Taylor (September 7, 2006 @ 1:06 pm )
I HATE the blind hem stich! I know how to fold it and all (and yes, that took me waaaaay to long to figure out!), but the material always puckers and doesn’t lay right. Even after I iron it. So, if I don’t want the hem stiches to show, I do them by hand. But most of the time, I don’t care if they show or not, so I just strait stich the hem.
Although, I just got a new machine ~ computerized and all! To those of you who already have one, it’s probably no big deal. But I have been using the same clunker for years and having been asking dear hubby for on. One night, he listend to me sewing (trying to sew is more like it) and he felt sorry for me. He finally consented and now it’s sitting all pretty on my table, surrounded by a mountain of things to do. Maybe I’ll try it again on the new one.
Jennifer
Comment by Jennifer D (September 7, 2006 @ 3:16 pm )
Differences between Men and Women: mapreading
I love my wife. She completes me.
Now that that I have take care of that, here are some differences between the sexes:
Men can read a map and follow directions without rotating the map at every turn; women can’t.
Men would rather give/receive di…
Trackback by folleyball (October 30, 2006 @ 12:32 pm )
[...] annoying part about being married to a rocket scientist is that I will never win a chess game or hold a map in a way that he doesn’t laugh at me. Other than that, it’s all good. Congratulations on [...]
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