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Hemming used to be one of my least favorite parts of sewing. The main structure of garments come together quite quickly. Then all the finishing details such as hemming and sewing buttons, etc. take just as long as it does to construct the whole thing! It can be highly frustrating.
But recently my views on hemming have changed.
Have you ever taken one of those scary classes where the teacher would call you out in front of everyone and humiliate you with a question you didn’t know the answer to?
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I had one Soil Physics class in particular like that. I had to have someone help me with nearly every homework assignment. Every class period I was horrified with the thought of the professor calling me out. In the moments before class began while waiting for the professor, Dr. Horton, to silently glide in, I would draw a picture of a little hem on the margin of my notebook paper and write underneath:
“You hem me in, behind and before.”
It’s a scriptural reference of poetry about God being our protector… This class was evidently so scary I felt I needed some divine assistance!
It’s such a beautiful line of poetry, because a hem is a protection for the cloth our garments are made with. Cloth is simply a vast matrix of small threads woven or knitted together. The cloth may be strong, but the individual threads are weak. Hemming keeps the exposed threads on the ends from fraying and disassembling from the rest of the cloth matrix.
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But what if hems have a deeper significance? What if they are also a protection for us personally?
In many ways, we too, are made up of many small fibers.
A hem is a symbol of protection against negative, self sabotaging thoughts, a reminder of how special you are, just as you are. It’s a reminder that you are wonderfully created. You don’t need validation from anyone else, because you are enough as you are. It’s a reminder of how lovely your body is and how much it is worthy of being honored and adorned with lovely, quality clothing.
When you put on garment you literally surround yourself with a hem. You are hemmed in, behind and before. You are cared for and loved. All the fibers that make up the matrix of who you are, they are held, hemmed in, protected.
What are your thoughts when you sew?
FS MONUMENT Mid Weight Linen Fabric
12 Comments
I listen to classical music while sewing, and it is my peaceful time. I’m grateful to God for finally finding beautiful fabric to sew. Sewing with linen is changing me. Only those who sew know the great satisfaction of creating with fabric that comes from the earth! I feel the same way about wool and silk, hemp and lovely lawn or Pima cotton…..yet none seem so cool versatile as this linen! We were made to create, and not to enclose ourselves in plastic, non-breathable disposables.
I like to think about what the ancient patriarchs, matriatchs and the generations long before us wore.
Oh this is so beautifully described, Suzanne. Creating with fabric that comes from the Earth, absolutely! And linen being among the most lovely of fabrics, I couldn’t agree more.
Beautifully said!
Thank you Elizabeth!
Thank you, Sarah for this beautiful analogy. It reminds me of the way we bind our new borns so that they feel protected. God has given us sooooo many ways to know He loves us and protects us. His sacrifice on the cross made it all possible. God bless you today.
Mary
Hi Mary — what a lovely picture of wrapping up a new born like a hem wraps us up. Thanks for sharing that.
What a beautiful concept. Thank you!
While sewing, I mostly think about and pray for family. I am usually sewing for one of my family, but still think about them when I’m sewing for my business. I also pray for the customer that has ordered the garment I am sewing.
Sewing can feel like such a special and intimate thing, can’t it? How lovely that you consciously pray for the people who will wear the garment you are making. Every stitch is like sending a little love an encouragement in their direction.
Cloth makes an excellent metaphor for care taking because it is pliable and mutable like our skin. It surrounds, protects and comforts us. It is like an ongoing hug. Using the hem as another encircling image strengthens the image of cloth caring for us, but also twists into the need for us to care for our cloth…..to prevent the fraying that daily use brings to fabric, and to us all, by a careful stitching of independent threads into a sturdy whole.
This table setting is beautifully subtle. The colors and texture of the unpressed linen with the monochromatic dishes and coordinating flowers (and food) create a calm but compelling setting for a memorable gathering. I really appreciate seeing this kind of attention to the table.
Like an ongoing hug — so beautifully written, Dana.
I very rarely click through the emails to read the full article on the Thread- but I had just closed my Bible app where I was reading the Psalm this came from, and my eyes nearly bugged out of my head when I saw the words. I guess I got a little extra exposition on my Bible reading today!
Hi Hannah, what a lovely encounter with this Psalm. Thanks for sharing!