Hemming Pants

photo: Eric Diesel

As soon as I mailed the warranty card, I felt that the new sewing machine was officially a member of our urban household. As I wrote in the previous sewing column, I’ve been ready for a while to obtain a new machine, and I proceeded with the understanding that I was making an investment not just of funds but time, intention and work. I have already received return on that investment. I have made cocktail napkins and top-stitched a coverlet. I could have done either of these projects by hand but the sewing basket still has a stack of hand-sewing – buttons on new waistbands, embroidery on tea towels -- which I will get to during air-conditioned days indoors this summer.

One can also hem by hand, but one of the first tasks I completed with the new machine was hemming a stack of pants. Both my work trousers and John’s scrubs typically arrive unfinished along the bottom hem, and prior to obtaining the new machine we were dependent upon a tailor to do a task that is simple to do once you learn how. In art school they told us that we had to learn how to draw a straight line before we could break it – meaning that we had to master the basics of drawing before we painted a masterpiece. In sewing, one of the most basic, and essential skills, is sewing a hem.

Here are the instructions for mastering the fundamental skill of sewing hems on trousers. Trousers are simple to hem because they are a straight hem (one that goes across the bottom of an ungathered column of fabric) rather than a circular hem (one that goes along the bottom of a gathered column of fabric, such as a circle skirt). However, once you master straight hems, it is not that difficult to master circular hems and cuffs, and if adjusted for the differences in the garments the technique below would work for a gored skirt.

photo: Eric Diesel

As you work, remember that mise en place is as important in sewing as it is in cooking. Both my grandmother and the costume shop runner will back me up on this: the first step in sewing is setting up your area to work. Your work will go faster and be more satisfying if your sewing area is set up so that everything you'll need is within arm's reach. About that sewing area: don't fret if you don't have a back porch or its equivalent to dedicate to sewing. Many of us don’t. I sew at the dining table. That's why a portable, versatile machine and a well-stocked sewing kit are important, because with them you can work anywhere you can make some room. Finally, don't be intimidated by the number of steps in the instructions below. They are written to be usable by the newest sewer; as with so many things, these steps become second nature the more you do them.

HEMMING PANTS

These instructions are for hemming trousers with either a finished or unfinished bottom hem. Hems should be nearly invisible, so use thread the same shade as, or slightly darker than, the trouser fabric. These instructions are for a double-fold hem; to do a single-fold hem, cut the fabric at the second set of marks but do not fold the hem under before sewing it.

Sewing Area
Sewing machine with threaded bobbin and needle
Ironing board with cover
Iron
Water mister or pressing cloth

Supplies
Seam gauge or tape measure
Safety pins
Straight pins
Scissors
Pinking shears
Tailor’s chalk
Pencil
Paper

Set up the sewing area
1. Set up the ironing board and plug in the iron, making sure that the iron is safely out of reach as it heats. Place the mister or pressing cloth within reach of the ironing board.
2. Plug in the sewing machine and turn it on. Use the flywheel to press the needle down, pulling the bobbin thread up.
3. Place an extra spool of thread in the correct color, scissors and reading glasses or magnifying glass within reach to the right of the machine.

Mark the hem
1. Have the individual who will be wearing the trousers put them on, adjusting them so that they are hanging from the waist where that individual typically wears their waistband. Have the individual put on the shoes they typically wear with the trousers, along with a belt if any. Have them place in their pockets anything they typically carry there. Confirm with the individual that the pants feel like they typically do when being worn – they are sitting at the right place in the waist, the pockets feel right, etc.
2. Have the individual hold the trousers in place at the waist. Visually note how the trousers fall from the waist – is it a gathered waistband, or pleated, or straight, or tied? This will impact the amount of fabric at the bottom hem.
3. With the individual holding the trousers in place at the waist, use one hand to pull the trousers taut at the kneecap. Work with the front of the leg rather than along the side seam. Use the other hand to pull the trousers taut down the front of the leg from the kneecap to the ankle.
4. Release the hand from the kneecap and use a saftey pin to mark the spot where your other hand is holding the trouser at the ankle.
5. Release the pants and ask the individual if they wear the pants with or without a break. Pants with a break fall slightly further along the top of the shoe than pants without a break. If the individual prefers a break, pull the trousers taut down the front of the leg to the top of the shoe. Mark the spot with a safety pin. If the individual does not prefer a break, find the spot on the trousers that corresponds to the side of the ankle where the bone sticks out. Mark the spot with a safety pin.
6. Turn up the trousers from the bottom mark, evening out the bottom as you go, and ask the individual if that looks and feels right for the bottom hem. Adjust the turn-up up or down until the individual is satisfied. Once the individual is satisfied, use a safety pin to mark the new bottom hem through both layers of fabric.

Press and Mark
1. Have the individual remove the trousers. Find the spot where the trousers are pinned through two layers. This spot marks the new bottom of the trouser leg.
2. Lay out the trousers with that marked spot facing upwards. Smooth out the leg. Use the seam gauge or tape measure to measure the amount of fabric from the old bottom of the trouser leg to the pinned spot marking the new bottom of the trouser leg. Write down that measurement. Remove all the pins from the trousers.
3. Use the seam gauge or tape measure to measure up the new bottom hem so that it conforms to the measurement as written down. Use the seam gauge or tape measure to measure and the tailor's chalk to mark the new bottom hem at two inch intervals around the entire circle of the trouser leg.
4. Use the seam gauge or tape measure and tailor's chalk to make a second set of marks one-half to one inch (depending how much extra fabric there is) below the new bottom hem around the entire circle of the trouser leg.
5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 with the other trouser leg.
6.Turn the trousers inside out. Fold each trouser leg up to the marked bottom hem; the top set of marks should now be one-half to one inch above the new bottom hem. Use the pinking shears to carefully cut along the top set of chalk marks.
7. Use the pinking shears to trim the seam allowance from the inseam and outseam to the point of the cut where it transoms the seams.
8. Use the iron to press the new bottom hem into place, using the mister or pressing cloth if indicated, folding the newly cut edge under and then pressing that into place to make the sewing line.
9. Repeat steps 6 through 8 with the other trouser leg.

Hem and Cut
1. Take the trousers to the machine.  Use the presser foot to gently feed each trouser leg through the machine, using a straight stitch to sew along the folded top edge that is the sewing line. Refer to the user's guide for your sewing machine to learn how to use the reverse- or backstitch to complete the row of stitching.
2. Clip the threads and remove the trousers from the machine.
3. Shake out the trousers and lightly press them.