Fraying Hem, Fraying Nerves

Ooops! Before I washed this set of four towels, I machine-stitched across the end of each towel. But then I absentmindedly cut the roll of towels apart before washing and drying them.

This towel bore the brunt of my silliness....the plain weave intended for the hem frayed badly.


Wouldn't you know, this happened on a set of towels I intend to use in our master bathroom. It couldn't have happened on a single towel that would be hanging on its own.

I wanted to make the hems look the same on all four towels.

My weaving group came to the rescue with suggestions.

First I pinned the frayed area to a foam core board. (This is a simulation...the fraying was repaired before I took this photo).

With the frayed area pinned to the board, I used pins to work the threads into a better position, straightening them out and re-weaving them the best I could.


Next I used Lite Steam a Seam 2, a double-sided fusible webbing to stabilize the fabric without adding bulk or stiffness. Steam a Seam is available at my local Joann Fabrics, and probably many other fabric stores.


I positioned the steam a seam at the edge of the hem,


peeled it back to, then folded the hem into position.


Then I applied steam a seam to the other side of the frayed area, and folded the hem down a second time, as originally planned.


I pressed it to fuse the web to the fabric.


Then I hemmed normally - which for me, right now, means hand-hemming. Otherwise, the combination of me, my sewing machine, and my handwoven fabric can get pretty out of control.


After washing and using the towel, I am happy to report I can't tell the difference between the towel with the repaired hem and the other towels in the set.

I did not use Steam a Seam on the other towels. That product is very light and doesn't add much bulk to hems - otherwise the other towels would have felt different than this repaired towel.

Thanks weaving buddies for bailing me out once again!