Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Put on the pants and then put on the shoes you will most often be wearing with the pants. If you have several pair of shoes, wear the pair with the shortest heel.
Place a pin horizontally across the top edge of your heel to mark the position on each leg.
Measure the distance from the top edge of your heel to the bottom of one pants leg. Complete the same measurement on the other leg to make sure they are the same. It is possible for the two legs to have different measurements.
Subtract one inch from each measurement and cut off that amount off the hem. For example, if the measurement from the top of your heel to the end of the pants leg was 5 inches, you will need to cut off 4 inches. This will give you room for the seam allowance.
Use a fabric marker to mark your cutting line all the way around the pants legs. Keep the measuring tape handy to ensure you mark the line at the same distance up from the bottom of the leg all the way around.
Make a second line 1 inch above the cutting line. This line should be even with the pin you have in place. Mark both legs in the same manner, all the way around the edge.
Cut along the lowest mark you made, the cutting line, to remove the excess fabric from both legs.
Turn the pants inside out.
Sew a zigzag stitch around the cut edge of the fabric. This will prevent any unraveling of the fabric.
Fold the pants toward you, along the remaining line you marked earlier. The zigzag edge will be on the inside of the pants, which is now facing out since you turned them.
Iron the pants to hold the fold in place while you sew.
Use the blind stitch setting, or blind stitch foot, on your sewing machine to sew the hem. If your machine is not capable of blind stitching, then hand sew the hem using a catch stitch.
To complete a catch stitch, start the seam on the inside of the hem and as you weave the needle through the pieces of fabric you only catch a few strands of the outside of the pants. This keeps the seam hidden.