* This is the first on a list of tutorial posts I’ve been working on. What other tutorials would you like to see on our blog?
I have a lot of tall people in my family these days. It seems like every summer I am spending at least one day cutting and hemming pants that are too short and making them into shorts. It works great if you are 12 but when you are a grown up and your pants start to creep up you might think that the only solution is the donation basket… after all, your business casual workplace may frown upon dress pant cut-offs.
Depending on how much hem allowance your pants have, there may be another solution! Adding a facing to the bottom of your pant leg can add several inches to the finished length. Here’s how…
- The first thing to do is release the original hem in your pants. Do so carefully, please! Use a seam ripper and sharp snippers to remove the stitching. Vigorous tearing can damage fibers, making it obvious that you wrestled with your hem.
- Use these equations to determine the size to cut your facings: width of bottom edge of pants + 1/2″ = length of facing, width of original hem + 1/2″ = width of facing
- Choose your facing fabric. Lining fabrics are good but you can pretty much use anything that isn’t too heavy or thick. Stick to something slightly lighter then or the same as the fabric the pants are made of. I like to choose fabrics with prints or contrasting colors for fun!
- Mark and cut your facing pieces – you’ll need two. They should be cut on the bias (45 degree angle to the selvedge edge of fabric), this allows your facings to stretch slightly, which comes in handy if your pants are slightly tapered.
- Sew the short edges of each facing piece, right sides together. 1/4″ seam allowances, please! Press seam open.
- The facing pieces are circles now, and you should have two. Press 1/4″ of one edge to the wrong side of each facing piece.
- Matching seam of one facing to the inseam of one pant leg, pin facing in place keeping unfolded edge of facing even with the bottom edge of the pant leg. Sew at 1/4″ seam allowance. Repeat for second pant leg and facing.
- Here’s a little trick I learned from my mom (you may know her as Heidi, Stitch Cleveland’s resident Seamologist)… fusing a strip of interfacing to the hem of the pant will create a nice edge with body. I prefer to use woven fusible interfacing, I like the drape of it much better then the non-woven type. So, cut about a 1″ strip of fusible interfacing and fuse it to the pant leg. The edge of the interfacing should butt right up to the seam you just made all the way around.
- Press the facing to the wrong side of the pant leg. Now you’re ready to hem your new facing. I was always taught to try and match the original hem. So, if your hem was topstitched, topstitch your facing in place. If the original hem was not visible from the right side, you’ll want to use the blindstitch on your machine or sew it by hand.
- Enjoy! Without feeling like Urkel*.
Obviously, the amount of length you can add to the pants depends on how wide the original hem is… larger, double folded hems have more fabric in them so they will be longer.
I love pulling this little trick out of my hat. My husband is pretty tall and it’s hard to find dress slacks that are long enough for him. I’ve been able to buy pants that are 2″ shorter then what he would normally wear and make them work!
* Didn’t Steve Urkel drive an Isetta (“that’s what Isetta”)… I saw one drive by the shop this afternoon as I left. Sweet.
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