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Tailoring your own clothing at home
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Are your dress pants too long? Don't call the tailor just yet. Hemming dress pants yourself is super simple, and is something you can do at home with a little time, patience, and a handful of sewing tools. We'll show you how to pin those pants in place, then hem them in to make a pair tailored perfectly to you.
Steps
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Using a tape measure, measure and mark with a white fabric pencil the length you would like the dress pants to be. [1] X Expert Source Mia Danilowicz
Master Tailor Expert Interview. 8 January 2021. It is preferable to have the person who needs the pants altered to be wearing them when you are measuring the required length. [2] X Research source -
Cut off the current excess hems of the dress pants. Leave enough room to fold halfway to the desired hem length. Cut off any long frays to ensure they don't show after the second folding of the hem to create a tidy hem line. [3] X Research sourceAdvertisement
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Turn the dress pants inside out. Fold the bottom hem halfway towards the desired hem length. Press with an iron. [4] X Research source
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While carefully keeping the new hem in place, insert a straight pin directly through the folded hem. You will need to insert the end of the straight pin back up so that it is now showing through to the inside of the dress pant hem. Ensure that when you pin the hem, it gathers as little as possible. [5] X Expert Source Mia Danilowicz
Master Tailor Expert Interview. 8 January 2021. Using only enough pins to hold the hem in place, continue pinning around each hem. [6] X Research source
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Thread a sewing needle. The length of the thread should be roughly the length of your arms, spread out to the sides. Take the end of the thread and insert through the eye of the needle. Gently pull through. Holding the thread you just inserted into the eye of the needle between your fingers, spread your arms out with the other hand holding the spool of thread. Bring your hands together in front of you and snip the thread from the spool.
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With both ends of the thread even with each other, knot the bottom once, leaving roughly an inch or so (around 2.5cm) of thread dangling from the end. This will let you know while you are basting the hem that when you feel resistance, you are near the end of the thread and are ready to make the next basting stitch.
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Baste around each hem. Do this loosely, so that you can remove the these threads by hand afterwards. Make each basting stitch roughly one inch (2.5cm), leaving roughly one inch (2.5cm) between each stitch. Double check before stitching that the hems are even.
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Once each hem has been basted, remove all of the straight pins.
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You are now ready to sew each hem with the sewing machine. Choose the stitch you would like to use and place the hem under the needle. Match the colour of thread on the bobbin and the spool to the colour or complimentary colour of the dress pants. You will be stitching near the top of each folded hem.
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Once you have sewn each hem with the sewing machine, remove the basting. It should come out easily.
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Iron the hems. Fold once more so you can pin and baste the hems once more to the desired length. Iron and sew as in the previous steps. [7] X Research source Remove the basting stitches. Press with an iron. [8] X Expert Source Mia Danilowicz
Master Tailor Expert Interview. 8 January 2021.
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What’s The First Step For Hemming a Pair Of Pants?
Expert Q&A
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QuestionHow do you hem pants without a sewing machine?Mia Danilowicz is a Master Tailor who works onset and on the red carpet in Los Angeles, California. With over a decade of experience, Mia specializes in bridal and gown couturier fittings, garment reconstruction, and custom design. Mia has worked at the Oscars, Grammys, SAG Awards, and Golden Globes. Her clients include a long list of entertainment and fashion industry headliners, major fashion magazines, luxury consumer brands, and popular media. Mia was trained at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and received her AA in Fashion Design and BS in Business Management.Without a sewing machine, there's a couple different things you can do. If you have an iron, you can try fusible, interfacing webbing. This product is basically an adhesive that melts as you iron it. Fold the pants underneath at your desired length and iron them using the adhesive. If you're in a rush, you can also try double sided tape. To use this method, fold up your pants underneath and tape it up using the double-sided tape. The nice thing about both of these methods is that it's a temporary hem, so you can always let the hem back down.
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Tips
- Make sure you have enough light to see the details of the stitches.Thanks
- If any of the cut hem becomes frayed, gently snip the frays off using sharp scissors.Thanks
- If possible, have the dress pants measured while the owner of the dress pants is wearing the pants.Thanks
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Warnings
- Make sure you have removed all of the straight pins before you sew with the sewing machine.Thanks
- Make sure that your hems are folded neatly and evenly.Thanks
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References
- ↑ Mia Danilowicz. Master Tailor. Expert Interview. 8 January 2021.
- ↑ https://www.lilyardor.com/how-to-hem-pants-like-a-pro/
- ↑ https://www.lilyardor.com/how-to-hem-pants-like-a-pro/
- ↑ https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/how-to-hem-pants-1106177
- ↑ Mia Danilowicz. Master Tailor. Expert Interview. 8 January 2021.
- ↑ https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/how-to-hem-pants-1106177
- ↑ https://www.manmadediy.com/2630-the-diy-tailor-how-to-hem-dress-pants-like-a-pro
- ↑ Mia Danilowicz. Master Tailor. Expert Interview. 8 January 2021.
About This Article
Article Summary
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To hem dress pants, start by drawing a line where you want the new hem to be using a white pencil. Then, cut off the excess fabric below the hem, and turn the dress pants inside out. Next, fold the bottom hem up, and pin it into place. Once you've done that, use a needle and thread to baste around each hem, leaving about 1 inch of space between each stitch. Finally, remove the pins, and sew the hem with a sewing machine before removing the basting stitches. For tips on how to measure dress pants before hemming them, read on!
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"My husband always needs pants shortened. I knew nothing so just did my best. It's so expensive to take 7 or 8 pairs at a time, he pays. Anyway, this has made it so much easier for this old woman, don't say old dogs can't learn new tricks. But I sew by hand."
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