Hem

The style of hemming thus completely encloses the cut edge in cloth, so that it cannot unravel.

[1] There are even hems that do not call for sewing, instead using iron-on materials, netting, plastic clips, or other fasteners.

Hems can be serged (see serger), hand rolled and then sewn down with tiny stitches (still seen as a high-class finish to handkerchiefs), pinked with pinking shears, piped, covered with binding (this is known as a Hong Kong finish), or made with many other inventive treatments.

[1] Modern sewing machines designed for home use can make many decorative or functional stitches, so the number of possible hem treatments is large.

These home-use machines can also sew a reasonable facsimile of a hem-stitch, though the stitches will usually be larger and more visible.

Clothing factories and professional tailors use a "blind hemmer", or hemming machine, which sews an invisible stitch quickly and accurately.

Hem repair tape is a type of non-woven fusible interfacing available as a continuous, thin length.