sb. Needlework. [COUNTER- 8 b.] A hem parallel and opposite to a first or main hem.
Thus, when a patch is felled or hemmed in on both sides, that on the inside is the counter-hem.
So Counter-hem v., Counter-hemming vbl. sb.
1882. Caulfeild & Saward, Dict. Needlework, I. 92–3. Counter-Hemming. The flat seam should then be tacked down … and … felled (or hemmed), and as soon as one side has been finished, the second, or ‘counter-hem,’ is made in the same way. This is an untidy method of working.
1887. Spons, Househ. Managemt., Workroom 890. Counter-hemmed Patch.—This could be utilised for almost any repairing.
