With banner hemming, you can opt to sew, glue, weld with heat, or tape your banners. There are shops that don’t have the sewing machine, and glue is not the only option although it doesn’t need machinery when hemming. Let’s go over the options one by one.
Hemming with Glue
You have to first get the right adhesive glue for vinyl banners. Per experience, we set the banner flat on a table and lay an 8-foot and 2-inches wide ruler along the edge of the banner. Using the ruler, we drew a straight line that is 2 inches from the edge. After that, we applied the glue within the line to the edge of the banner in one side. And then we folded an inch over to the pen line. We then used a hard rubber roller to seal the vinyl with itself. We repeated this process on all sides.
This is probably the toughest method, in my opinion, to hem your banner among the others that I will be discussing as well.
Hem Banner with Tape
This is one easy method. The process is the same as described above. You lay the banner flat, set a 2-inch by 96-inch ruler, and mark the 2-inch line with the pen. This time, instead of glue, you lay the tape along the line you have drawn.
After putting the tape on, peel the adhesive backing paper off, fold the banner, and then press them together, still, using a hard rubber roller or the like.
Others that Need Equipment
The above methods are the only ones wherein you can mechanically hem a banner, but there are also other better alternatives which require the use of a machine or equipment.
Sewing Machine
The first is the industrial sewing machine, which fits a double foot to enable parallel stitching. This is one simple method if you have the machine.
If you have the money, you can get one online. You just have to make sure that you are purchasing from a reputable company with a really good customer service.
On one hand, learning how to use the machine is way tougher than buying it. It takes practice until you are able to consistently fold one inch of the vinyl banner over and straightly sew it without bunching the material. Once you have mastered that, your next goal is to learn how to sew a straight seam at a faster pace.
Heat- Welded Seam
Using the heat-welded seam is the last method. This one needs a special equipment. You can either use heat welders or heat seamers. A heat seamer moves along the edge of the banners, while heat welder moves the banner through a heated hem welder. You can also make pole pockets like the other methods.
In Conclusion
Whatever method you opt to use to hem your vinyl banners, the end result is the same. One method that I don’t like is the taping one, because as you roll the taped hem, it tends to make wrinkles along the hem, which are not neat to look at. But if you are hemming for an outdoor banner with a long viewing distance, the wrinkles are not really visible.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Barry K. Brown has been in the WHOLESALE Sign, Banner, Decal and Display Business, which is Rated A+ by the BBB, for over 20 years. It isn’t what he thought he’d do with his life, but he says he knows too much now to do anything else!
He has been marketing these products online since 1998, and the company he was general manager of in 1998 was the first sign company to be listed on Yahoo!