How to Hem:
Creating an instructional video about hemming an article of clothing
Introduction
Our next assignment after the carrier project is to create an instructional video that is 60 seconds or less. Two of our critical restraints are that we are not allowed to use words or text, and that we are only allowed to cut the video. The audio and the lighting of the video must stay the way they are recorded.
The professors assigned us random actions by making each of us pick a piece of paper on a desk. My assigned action is hemming a shirt.
And I used Medium as a method to record how I completed this instructional video project (Get it? Haha.).
Step 0. Research on various methods to hem an article of clothing
The following are the methods I found online on how to hem.
Method 1*
Materials: scissors, needle, thread, steam iron, chalk, ruler, straight pins
- Rip out the old hem using scissors
- Measure the length of the shirt the way you want it to be
- Mark the length of the shirt you want it to be and a stitching guide line using a chalk
- Fold the fabric around the lower line
- Place straight pins around the fold
- Flip the entire clothing inside out
- Iron the cuff straight
- Remove the pin and cut the fabric
- Sew the hem — use a thread that matches the color of the article of clothing and try to blind stitch
Method 2
Materials: scissors, steam iron, chalk, ruler, straight pins, fusible tape
- Follow steps 1~8 from Method 1
- Apply the fusible tape to the cloth and secure it using steam iron
Method 3
Materials: scissors, thread, steam iron, chalk, ruler, straight pins, sewing machine
- Follow steps 1~8 from Method 1
- Use sewing machine to create the hem
*The method that I am going to use for this project. Stitching by hand is more affordable and realistic than purchasing a sewing machine just for this project.
Step 1. Learn the Assigned Action
October 18th -20th 2018: Practice the action
One of the critical issues with me performing this task is that I do not really know how to stitch. I have stitched garments a few times out of necessity, but it generally took me a long time. Hence, I decided to practice stitching before I teach myself how to hem.
I started my stitch by pulling the thread through the needle and drawing a straight line on a piece of cloth. Using the needle, I then traced line on the cloth. As I practiced it over and over, I found a way that is more comfortable for me. I realized that I prefer running stitch more than back stitch and split stitch and that it is easier to make the needle go through the cloth multiple times than trying to make a mark every single time.
Based on the skills I gained while practicing stitches on a single layer of cloth, I expanded my practice by stitching two pieces of cloth together (Basically, I stitched a sleeve of a shirt). While doing this, I learned that different stitching sizes give different emotions about the work created. The small stitches made the work seem more precise; meanwhile, larger stitches make the work appear sloppier. Although the stitches are supposed to be invisible for my final product, I found this information extremely useful. At this point, I started to wonder if the size of the stitches would have direct correlation with the amount of strength the thread can handle. Theoretically, it should, because smaller stitches are poking more holes to the cloth than larger stitches (Right?).
A day after practicing stitching, I decided to practice hemming, which would require me to a) rip the original hem, b) fold the cloth and secure it with a pin, and c) create clean stitching. As a person who has never tried hemming before, this procedure sounded complicated. Therefore, I decided to hem only a part of a cloth.
My first attempt of hemming was on a white cotton t-shirt, mainly because that was the only thing that I had at the moment. I also skipped the ironing portion of the step: This t-shirt was too fragile, and I did not have a steam iron with me.
After trying it, I realized that hemming may not be as difficult as I have imagined. It is time consuming and tedious, but not that bad. At the same time, I found a critical thing that I must always be aware of when hemming: I must make sure that I stitch through both layer of cloth. Yes, it sounds kind of stupid, but I made a mistake of not pulling the needle through both pieces on my first attempt.
Things went smoothly when I tried hemming the second time. However, on the third trial, I accidentally cut through the bottom layer of cloth when cutting the excess material. For the next time, I really should make sure that I do not make that mistake. I also noticed that the cloth becomes wrinkly if I tie the thread too tightly. From my three attempts, I realized that hemming (or stitching in general) is about finding the appropriate size of stitch and putting the appropriate amount of pressure when tying the knot.
October 21st, 2018: Create a storyboard
The photo sequence below is my storyboard of how to hem a shirt.
The assignment of this week was to create a storyboard using photos. Since the storyboard was used as an element to describe my filming process, I hemmed a sleeve of the cotton shirt that I practiced my stitches. This was the first time I hemmed an article of clothing that was in a form of a sleeve, and I leared that hemming a sleeve is harder than hemming a strip of cloth.
Additionally, I tweaked a few steps within the method that I found online to make the process easier. For example, I would cut the cloth after stitching to provide myself more wiggle room while working on the stitches.
October 22nd, 2018: Practice hemming
Because hemming a sleeve is harder than hemming a strip of cloth, I decided to work on the skill. I boldly cut out the other sleeve of the cotton shirt and used it for my practice.
Although the cotton sleeve looks very dirty in the photo, the color of the cloth is closer to white in real life. This practice allowed me to realize that it is easier to place the pins if I create a cuff beforehand.
October 23rd, 2018: Change the stitching method
During class, the professors went over the storyboards and discussed about different ways to make the videos more effective. For those who are filming about hemming a shirt, the professors noted that hand positioning and lighting play extremely significant roles in the video.
As the class went on, Steve claimed that the instructional video should focus on doing the action well. When he said that, I blanked out: The way I have been stitching my clothing may not be the definition of hemming well. Therefore, I decided to explore different stitching methods that would show less of the thread.
At the end of stitching exploration, I decided to hem my article of clothing using slip stitch. Slip stitch does not show the thread as much as running stitch, and is clean.
Step 2. Film the Assigned Action
October 24, 2018: Filming Draft #1
For the class on Thursday, Stacie told us to bring in videos. I do not have a film background — I don’t think I ever filmed something this seriously. Hence, I decided to explore different angles and compile them first before creating a rough draft.
After doing video explorations, I filmed a rough draft of my assigned action. Since hemming takes a lot of time, I decided to hem only a small section of the shirt.
One of the greatest challenges that I faced as I recorded the video was taking account of noise, shadow, and my body. I happened to film my action in the studio today. It has great lighting and large desk space (Additionally, room A11 was open yesterday, so I was assuming that it would be open today too). Anyways, because freshmen studio is always full of students, I was unable to control the things that the mic picks up. The audio was so bad that at the end, I had to mute some of the clips. I also had to cut some of the clips out due to unwanted shadows and/or my head being part of the footage.
As I compiled and watched my video over and over, I realized that clear transition and delivering of information are the two major challenges that I am facing. I must think of ways to clearly inform the steps for hemming.
October 28th, 2018: Draft #2
After viewing Draft #1, I realized that the stripes on the shirt can be confusing. Hence, I changed the shirt that I chose to hem.
Because I knew that the studio had too much noise, I filmed this draft in my dorm room. As I was compiling the clips, though, I realized that the noise made by the refrigerator can be troubling.
Regardless, I learned that there are other ways to provide transition without me actually performing the step. For example, I can transition from a white shirt with cuffs to a shirt with pins by a snap. This way, the information can be delivered clearly without spending too much time.
October 30th, 2018: Peer Review
During the class, students who are making balloon dogs watched my second draft. They provided constructive feedback and aided me to understand which areas I need to work on more. Based on their review, I learned that I need to a. stick with a few angles that would deliver the information most effectively (make sure the hand does not block the camera), b. reduce repetitive scenes using snaps and revealing the final at the end, c. have a proper introduction and conclusion, and d. spend more time on explaining the stitching.
October 31st, 2018: Draft #3
Using the information that I acquired during the peer review, I filmed my third draft of the video. While creating this video, I realized that I need to show a. the overall length of the shirt at the start and the end of the video, b. make sure certain actions are clear, and c. have smoother transition. I also started to think that snaps may not be completely necessary in certain situations.
November 1st, 2018: What do you see?
During class, I showed the third draft of my hemming video to friends. After showing it to multiple people, I concluded that I need to work on creating smoother transitions or even omitting snaps in certain situations, indicating that the shirt is completely flipped inside out instead of being flipped backwards, showing that I am an expert, and indicating that the overall length of the article of clothing has gotten shorter.
Stacie, our professor, also suggested me to be more mindful with the position of my hands, as the hands often block the viewer from fully understanding my action.
November 2nd, 2018: Draft #3.5
I call this draft #3.5 because I stopped filming in the middle. To indicate complete flip of the article, I decided to use a patterend pants. However, the material of this pants is extremely flimsy, making harder for me to hem. After struggling to film it for over two hours, I decided to give up on this footage and hem a pair of jeans. By creating this footage, though, I gained new ideas of the methods and indications to use when filming the next video.
Step 4. Recording the final video
November 4th, 2018: Video recording & Editing
After poking myself with a needle numerous times, I have finally created something I am satisfied with. I believe changing the clothing to a pair of jeans was an appropriate choice, because jeans are more sturdy than the pants that I attempted hemming before.
Step 5. Reflection
Honestly speaking, I am still unsure with the purpose of this project. I liked using video as a medium to portray and reflect our learning, but the actions that we were required to do or the expertise still confuse me. Regardless, it was a meaningful project in a sense that I learned that it is okay to dislike certain things. And among those ‘things’ I dislike anything that requires stitching. If I did not hem the jeans doing this project, I probably would not have known that. And it feels great knowing more about myself.
