Weaving Tutorial: Woven Hemstitch Finish (With Video)

If you are new to weaving, then one of the (numerous!) questions you’ve probably asked yourself is how you can finish your handwoven piece with a simple edge. There are a few different ways to achieve this besides tying the ends (for a quick tutorial on tying your weaving ends, go here or here). In today’s weaving tutorial we’ll explore a simple woven hemstitch finish which creates a lovely detail without creating a lot of bulk.

Benefits of Using a Hemstitch Finish

There are a few benefits to using a simple woven hemstitch finish for a wall weaving:

1. It will prevent your weft (horizontal rows of yarn) from sliding up or down your warp (vertical threads) by securing the edges.

2. It will prevent your warp at the top end of your wall weaving from pulling in different directions once you’ve added your dowel (Kate from The Weaving Loom demonstrates this at the top of her post here).

3. It creates a subtle, yet pretty design feature along the edges of your weaving.

How To Create a Hemstitch Finish

In the photo below, I’ve already finished the top edge using the hemstitch.

Here’s a closer look at the finished edge.

Okay, so let’s complete the look along the bottom.

Step 1: Select Your Yarn

First, select the yarn you’ll be using to create the hemstitch. You can use the same yarn (as I did) or choose a different colour or weight, depending on how subtle you wish this design feature to be.

Step 2: Secure Your Yarn

Secure the yarn to the back side of your weaving. Begin by flipping your loom over so that the back side is facing up.

Feed your yarn vertically through 3 or 4 weft threads.

Pull the yarn through, leaving a small tail end.

Flip your weaving back so that the front is now facing up.

Next, tie a knot around the first warp thread to anchor your yarn. To begin, feed the needle under the first warp thread, pulling the yarn through, but leaving a small loop (as I did below).

Then feed the needle back through that loop (as above) and pull the yarn through, creating a knot (as below).

Step 3: The Hemstitch (2 X 2 bundling)

To create the hemstitch, you will be ‘bundling’ together 2 warp threads with 2 weft threads (i.e., 2 X 2 bundling).

(Note: You may decide that for your weaving, you’d like to bundle together 3, 4 or more. That is entirely up to you. But for this tutorial, I’ll show you how to do the hemstitch by bundling together 2 warp and 2 weft threads.)

First, feed the needle under 2 warp threads and pull your yarn all the way through (in this case, towards the left).

Next, taking your needle, go back to the right and go over top of the same 2 warp threads and then back underneath and towards the left under the same 2 warp threads (thus ‘bundling’ the warp threads together) – but don’t feed your needle up just yet! Instead, move it up past 2 weft threads and then push the needle through (as I’ve done below).

Now pull your yarn until it creates your first knot (or hemstitch).

You’ve now created your first ‘bundle’ of 2 warp and 2 weft threads.

Repeat this process going across the entire edge of your weaving, making sure that for every 2 warp threads, you include 2 weft threads (2 X 2) for each bundle created.

Below is a side by side comparison of a finished and an unfinished edge.

Below is a completed hemstitch finish.

Video Tutorial

If you still need a little more guidance on creating a hemstitch edge, just follow along in this easy, step-by-step video tutorial where I show you how I added the hemstitch along the top of this weaving.