When making the MeowNuka Market Totes and MoJo Bags Liz noticed she was spending a lot of time measuring hems. We went to the local sewing shop to see if there was a foot for her machine to make this task easier. Sadly, no feet existed that were the size that we needed. After some brainstorming we came up with this 3D printed sewing hem helper that measures 1 1/4 in ( 31.75 mm ) and has places to put clips as you run it down the piece of fabric. The the other side of the hem helper is sized at 1/2 in ( 12.7 mm ).
The part is 3D printed at a 0.3mm layer height using PETG with a 25% infill. The thin bottom part is flat on the build plate and no supports are needed to print this this sewing hem helper. I kept the bottom thin part to ~1mm as the fabric folds over this edge. There are cutouts in the middle and at the ends where clips can be applied. The part is available to download at: https://gitlab.com/meowfire_public/3d_prints/-/tree/main/sewing_hem_helper
So how well did it work in real life? Liz can answer this better than I.
Sewing for fun and for oneself is one thing, but to create a profitable business that involves hand made sewed items requires:
- keeping cost of materials in check
- decreasing the time for the creator making and assembling the item
- Increasing overall quality and consistency of item
- Removing frustration to keep the crafting process fun
The sewing hem helper tool Jasun and I designed cut the time in 1/2 for finishing the top edge of the MeowNuka Market Totes and MoJo Bags by removing the need to use a measuring tape. Time was eliminated by removing the need for pressing the edge first. Quality improved as the tool lends itself to a greater consistency from item to item. More so, it removed a tedious and frustrating part of making these hand made items.