Rolled Hems

Lately I've been asked about how to do rolled hems.  These are great for veils, napkins, cup covers, and much more.  I like to use them around the necklines of tunics too.
I use linen for most of my garb, which takes a crease easily.
Here's a step-by-step photo tutorial:

First, I'm left-handed, so my instructions are shown from left to right.  If you're right-handed, just reverse and work from right to left.

1.  Thread a needle.  Double the thread or not, it's up to you.  Fold the raw edge over a little less than 1/4 inch.  No need to iron this if you're using linen.  I'm using very different fabric/thread colors in this example so that you can see the stitches clearly.  I used silk thread for this--you can use cotton, polyester, silk, or waxed linen for yours.

2.  Put your needle in the fabric BELOW the raw edge, picking up just one or two threads from the fabric.

 Then put your needle through two or three threads on the fold, DIAGONALLY from your first stitch, and pull through, so that your thread looks like this:

Here's an image showing needle placement for each set of stitches:

 3.  Continue stitching diagonally, picking up only two or three threads from the fabric as you stitch.  Don't pull stitches tight yet--it's way more satisfying once you've sewn a couple of inches.

 4.  So now you've got about 2 inches of stitches, so here comes the fun part...

 5.  Tug on the thread, pulling the stitches tight so that the fabric magically rolls like this:

  6.  Continue the stitching pattern, pulling every couple of inches.

 7.  Here's the right side of the fabric.  Stitches should look like tiny dots.  They're less obvious if your thread matches your fabric.

 8.  Turning corners...

 9.  If you've got corners, start your first stitch close to the edge, then stitch diagonally (this is how I figured it would work--if you figure out a better way, go for it!)

 10.  This image is upside-down, but you get the point--continue stitching...

 11.  Pull stitches tight.

 12.  Once you've made it all the way around, tie off your thread, snip any frayed edges that may be poking out, and enjoy your rolled-hem thingy!  This project became a cup cover.  I sewed beads to each corner to hold it on a cup.  The bugs stay out!

Fabric Buttons

A while back, I did this little tutorial on fabric buttons.  These were the first fabric buttons I'd ever made, and they came out larger than I expected, but still look lovely.  I have recently made much smaller ones for a Moy gown, using 1 3/4 inch circles, which made buttons that are each just under 1/2 inch.

Create a running stitch all the way around the circle, close to the edge:

Pull thread tight to create a tiny "pouch"

Don't knot or cut your threads quite yet.  Do another set of running stitches around the perimeter of the flattened pouch.

Press flat...

Pull threads tight to create a self-stuffed ball...

(not shown) Stitch back and forth across the bottom of the button to secure it, then knot, leaving a long tail so you can sew it to your garment.

These buttons are about 3/4 inch.

Sew buttons to the edge of the garment.  Make sure to make a couple of passes through the garment and buttons to ensure a securely attached button, and wrap the threads a few times around the stitches between the button and the garment to create a "shank".

This is a cotehardie for my husband. He's worn it many times over the last few years!