Square Hem Stitch Embroidered Edging Tutorial

Square hemstitch is a perfect edging for your hand embroidery project. Learn how to do it in this hand-stitching tutorial.

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Below you will find:

• video tutorial
• step-by-step written tutorial with pictures

Video

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Basic Square Hem Tutorial

Sometimes you don’t want to frame your embroidery or turn it into a pillow or quilt project. You just want to keep it as a cloth. It can be used as a bookmark, placemat, table topper or more.

When you do this, you have to finish the edges somehow.

You can hem the edges with a blind hem stitch or even hem on a sewing machine, but if you have a counted thread embroidery piece, then square hemstitch is a wonderful decorative choice.

This technique pairs wonderfully with hardanger embroidery since it is also worked in multiples of four threads. But it can be used with any stitching on any even-weave fabric. (Click here if you want to learn how to do hardanger embroidery.)

Preparing the Fabric

Before you begin stitching the hem, decide where the hem will be. Fold the fabric to the wrong side of the piece, aligning the fold with one of the threads in the fabric.

The part folded under needs to be at least four threads long. You can have it be longer, because you will trim it after stitching.

As you stitch, make sure the holes in the top and bottom fabrics align. You will be stitching through both treating it as one fabric.

Feel free to use a matching thread to make the hem almost invisible or a contrasting thread so that it stands out.

Basic Square Hem Stitch

This is the basic hem stitch. You can practice it on flat fabric without the fold to get the order of the stitches.

Once you are comfortable with the basic stitch technique, scroll down to see four different options for using it in a hem.

Step one – Stitch down

Bring the needle and thread up to the top and take a straight stitch down over four threads.

Step two – Stitch over and back

Come up to the top four threads to the left and then back down in the same hole as step one.

Step Three – Stitch up and across

Come up in the space four threads to the diagonal and then go down in the top of the first stitch. You are making a 4 x 4 square.

Step Four – Back to Start and Repeat

Come back up in the same hole as the last step.

This is the pattern for the stitch that will start again.

I find myself saying a little chant as I stitch to remember the pattern.

Down, across and back

Diagonal, across and back

When you get the the end of the row, finish with one stitch down to complete the square and then weave the end of the thread into the hem to secure it.

Stitch Variations

Here are four different options for using it in a hem

One thread on the edge

Fold the fabric back for the hem.

Stitch the hem stitch leaving only one thread of the fabric on the edge.

This gives a hem that comes right up to the edge of the fabric.

Double Square Hem

Begin by stitching one row of squares just like the first option.

When you get to the end, stitch another row of squares using the top of the first row as the bottom of the second row.

You can choose to stitch the bottom stitches of the second row of squares so that the two stitches overlap, or you can omit them so that there is only one stitch.

Diagonal Square Hem Stitch

If you reverse the “right side” and “wrong side” of these stitches, you get a decorative hem with diagonal stitches.

Two threads on the edge

If you want a bit more fabric on the edge of your piece, feel free to leave two threads (or even more) beyond the edge of your stitching.

The picture shows two threads on the end of the peach hem side. You can see the difference compared to one thread on the other hem sides.

This is just a personal design choice, but it might protect your embroidery thread a bit as well.

Enjoy hemming your embroidery pieces with the square hem stitch!

Looking for more embroidery tutorials?

See a whole collection of stitch tutorials in my Embroidery Stitch Directory.