Now that you have set up your tucks and basted them in place, it is time to hemstitch.

Press the tucks in the direction they will be facing so that they are laying nice and flat.

You will be making 2 passes along each stitching line to make the square shaped holes.  I used a pinstitch along each side to achieve a more open look to the tucks.

Here is the order of the basic hemstitch used on a hem.  The stitch sequence is the same for tucks.  There are 3 points to the stitch as shown in the photo below.

 

1. Bring the needle up at A

2. Insert needle from B to A 2 times, picking up a bundle of 4 threads.  Tug on the thread to pull the fabric together and open up the hole.

 

3. Insert needle from B to C.  This secures the tuck to the fabric and keeps it stitched together.

4. Insert the needle into A and pick up 4 more threads to the left.  Now this is the start of the next stitch, point A.  The old point A becomes the new point B for the next stitch.

Repeat the process from Step 2 and work across from right to left.

Left-handers will reverse the process and work from left to right.

Keep this rhythm in your head as you stitch so you don’t lose your place.  The thread is very lightweight and hard to see sometimes and repeating this order will help you keep track.

This is what it will look like when one side is completed.  This is the hemstitch from the wrong side of the fabric:

This is the right side of the fabric:

To create a more squared hole, repeat a line of hemstitch along the other side, mirror image and using the same holes.

To hemstitch the tucks, you can work from the right side or the wrong side.  It’s your personal preference.  I chose to work from the right side.  Instead of my point C being the hem, it is the underfold of the tuck, as shown below.

I’ve already stitched the tuck side on the right.  Now I’m stitching the left side, using the same holes.  You can see how it creates a larger, more squared hole.  If you want a more delicate look, then stitching only one side as in the photo above create that look.

Here they are all finished and pressed.