How would you like to have your fan veils hemmed on the ends?

perfectfan

Banned
For many years I have been selling fans without hemming their ends, under the impression that hemming would affect fan's free movement. This year I got 2~3 customers complaining about fan losing threads. So we tried hemming the fan's ends and found it really nice. Hemmed borders not only prevents the fans from losing threads, but also protect the thin silk inside from being torn apart. And because hemming is very tiny (less than 0.1 inches wide), it would not affect the fan's movement at all.

After I tried hemming, I realize there would be no excuse for me not to do it for my customers. I immediately hire a whole-time worker to hem all the fans in stock. I think it is worthwhile to put in extra money and work so that my customers to have better products. I didn't increase the price for that.
But it surprises me some customers would prefer fans NOT hemmed. How is that possible? Can anyone explain?
 

Zorba

"The Veiled Male"
Sounds a lot like a similar discussion regarding standard veils - although the reasons there are stronger in favor of hemming as it makes the edge easier to find. I always hem my veils if they're not already - but then again, its easy as I own a serger. As for fan veils, I'd want them hemmed too.
 

Shanazel

Moderator
Because some folks wouldn't be happy if you hanged 'em with new rope. ;)

The only sure way to know why some people prefer unhemmed silk is to ask them. I prefer hemmed silk myself but if the purchaser intends to dye the silk, the thread used for hemming can lead to uneven color absorption. I found this out (to my woe) when dyeing scarves- the thread and needle holes on the pre-hemmed ones caused the edges to splotch.
 

perfectfan

Banned
Yes Shanazel. That is possible. But not many buy fans to repaint, especially the fans that are not plain white. I hope one day my customers can understand my considerations.
 

Daimona

Moderator
What people prefer are usually a result of habit (old habits are hard to change) an beliefs (they probably believe the hemming would affect the performance, even if your experience says otherwise).

As long as the hemming doesn't affect the flow of the fabric, I don't see any problem with hemming the silk to make it more durable.
Use this as an advantage to promote your fan veils, they are lovely. :)
 

perfectfan

Banned
To keep the hemming as small as possible i bought an advanced hemming machine and hire an experienced worker. Not anyone can do the hemming as good as we do.
 
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