How to Hem Pants

I'm late with this week's post. I know, I know, it's Monday, the beginning of the week, but technically, this post should have been written last week, but the pears had come in and I picked a whole fruit box full (does that equal a bushel? I'm not sure), which I then spent the majority of the week canning when I wasn't running around to checkups, etc., so I never found the time to sit down and write. Whew! 

I barely found the time to clean my house, and that only a minimum! So, this week I'm playing catch up on all my normal routines. Consider yourself warned--you may get two blog posts this week!

Through all that time spent running around or standing stirring a pot on the stove (pear preserves take a loooong time to cook!), I was supremely conscious of one annoying thing--my new blue jeans were too long. 😬

As a height-challenged person, this is a fairly common problem for me; so much so, that I don't even worry about the length of my pants anymore when I buy them--if it fits in the waist, that's probably as good as I'm gonna get. I know how to hem them up once I get them home (obviously, I'd missed this pair!). But I've noticed that doesn't seem to be the case with other short women that I see in pants. They fold them, they pin them--I've even seen duct tape used to hold the hem in place(!)--,they cut them off and deal with the strings hanging down everywhere, but none of it really seems to work! 

Ladies (and gentlemen), can I just say--this is all so unnecessary! Hemming pants is one of the easiest things you can do on a sewing machine, and I'm here to show you how! Let's begin!

Now for those of you who don't own a sewing machine, stay with me--I will explain how to do it by hand! The process is the same for either method, but if you're hemming blue jeans, a sewing machine is much easier to use (blue jean is a very thick fabric!) and my personal recommendation. Also, it's generally faster to do it on the machine.

If this is your first time using your sewing machine, I highly recommend you check out my two posts on How to Thread a Sewing Machine; they explain all the ins and outs of using your machine.

The two most important things to keep in mind when hemming pants are the inseam and the type of needle used to hem. The inseam is the distance from your crotch to just below your ankle (the traditional length of pants). Obviously, if you want the pants shorter, like in capris or shorts, you would adjust the length accordingly, but regardless, you will start your measurement from the crotch. Before you hem anything, you must know your inseam! This is simply found by using a measuring tape (sewing or otherwise) and measuring that distance on yourself or with the help of a friend, etc., and then measuring and marking the same distance on the pants.

Once you have found your inseam, it's time to shorten the pants, but for heaven's sake, don't cut them off at your inseam length! Your pants will end up too short! (I've done this before--it's not pretty!😂) You've got to add about 1/2"-1" to the inseam to account for the rolled-over hem. You can see in the picture above that I marked my hemline with a chalk pencil, and then cut about 1/2" below that. Sometimes this means you won't have to cut off more than the existing hem; sometimes you may have to cut off more--it just depends on the original length of the pants on you. 

Make sure as well that both legs are cut off to the same length--you can lay one leg on top of the other to double-check--; I don't think I have to explain how strange it will look if they're not the same length! 😉

Once both pant legs are trimmed, you can turn the pants inside out and pin the new hem in place, again making sure that both legs match each other. I recommend folding the fabric over twice so that your cut edge will be on the inside of the hem preventing fraying; how deep (or wide, if you prefer that term) the hem will be is entirely up to you. Use straight pins about an inch or so apart all the way around to hold the hem in place. Now on to the machine!

Sewing on the machine is simplicity itself--you simply use a straight stitch all the way around the hem. But now we get to the second most important thing to remember--the type of needle you use. You may not realize it, but there are actually different sizes of needles for different types of cloth--the heavier the fabric, the thicker the needle. If you are hemming a pair of trousers or work pants, possibly made of cotton or polyester, you can use a standard sewing machine needle. But if you are hemming blue jeans or something similar in weight (like my husband's canvas Carhartts), you need a blue jean needle. It's a much sturdier needle and won't be as likely to break when dealing with the thick fabric.

Below you see a chart showing the different types of needles and also my packets of universal needles (used for cotton and most other lightweight fabrics) and blue jean needles (used for blue jean, canvas, duck or other thick fabrics).

It will be easier to sew each leg if you take the wide part off the bottom of the sewing machine; it's much easier to fit the pant leg around the smaller circumference directly beneath the needle.

Start your stitching in the middle of the back of the leg or close to one of the side seams so it won't be as visible from the front. Work your way around, keeping an even distance from the edge of the pants, and take your time when you come to the side seams. On the thicker fabrics, it may even be necessary to move the needle up and down manually using the side wheel to prevent the needle breaking when going over the side seams and then resume using the foot pedal once you're past them. Go slow until you get the hang of it; nothing is ever gained by haste. Once you've sewn your seam all the way around, go back and forth over the starting point to lock in the threads, and then trim the threads close to the fabric.

To sew it by hand, use a strong needle, knot your thread and secure it on the inside of the fabric, starting in the same place indicated above, and sew the hem to the fabric using a blind stitch. I explain how to do this stitch at the end of this post. When you're done, simply tie a knot in the thread close to the fabric and clip away the excess. If you're hemming children's pants, you may find it necessary to hem them by hand anyway, because the legs are too small to fit on the sewing machine.

And that's all there is to it! Before you know it, you'll have all your pants the right length and no longer have to worry about stepping on the hem when you wear them! You'll wonder how you ever put up with those too-long legs before now! And now if you'll excuse me, I've got a pair of pants I need to attend to! Happy sewing!