Making a Hem with Hemstitching - Towel of the Month

Lots of the handweaving references I've seen show you how to make a fringed edge using the hemstitch.  But you can use this stitch to actually make a hem, as the name suggests.

Press under the edge to be hemmed, and then fold that edge so that it meets the line formed by removing a weft thread or two (or the waste yarn I wove in this case).  Put the needle under a group of warp threads (I'm going under 4 threads here), and pull the thread through.

Put the needle under the same group of threads again, and then catch the fold of the hem, and pull through again.  Going around this second time cinches up the group and forms a decorative line of holes along the edge of the hem.