HOW TO: SHORTEN and HEM PANTS with a Sewing Machine – Fast & Easy

Hello there, fellow DIY enthusiasts and makers! Sterling W. here, and today I’m incredibly excited to share a skill I’ve recently picked up that has completely transformed my wardrobe (and saved me a trip to the tailor!): hemming pants with a Singer Heavy Duty sewing machine

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My Journey into Sewing: Hemming Pants Like a Pro!

You know how it is – you get a fabulous new pair of pants, but they’re just a tad too long. That was my exact dilemma! So, I decided it was time to tackle this myself, with a little help from my mom and her wonderful Singer Heavy Duty sewing machine. Let me tell you, that machine is a dream, especially with its neat sleeve shelf that makes hemming pant legs so much easier.

Getting Started: The Perfect Fit

The first step was figuring out the ideal length. I tried on the pants, folded them up to where I wanted them to hit, and carefully marked that line. A little tip I learned: if you only need a small adjustment, it’s great to remove the original hem to give yourself a bit more material to work with. Once I had my perfect length, I marked it. For my synthetic pants, I didn’t need to pre-wash them (cotton would be different!).

The Prep Work: Cutting and Stitching

Next, I cut off the excess fabric, leaving about an inch below my marked line for the new hem. I also learned to trim down any thick seam allowances to avoid a bulky hem later on. This is where my sewing machine really shone. Before folding the hem, I put the pants inside out and added an anti-fray stitch (like a zigzag) along the raw edge. This stops the fabric from unraveling and makes the hem super neat. For this, I set my machine to a center needle position and a stitch width of 4.

Folding, Pinning, and Sewing!

Now for the magic! I carefully folded the fabric up by an inch (my chosen hem allowance) towards the inside of the pants. Pins were my best friend here, helping to hold the fold perfectly in place, especially by aligning existing seams. For tapered pants, I even had to slightly open the original side seam to make sure the fabric lay perfectly flat.

Then, I removed the Singer Heavy Duty sewing machine bottom tray to use the convenient sleeve arm – this made it so much easier to sew the circular pant leg. I used a straight stitch, setting my machine to a center needle position and a stitch width of zero. I sewed slowly, guiding the fabric and pulling out pins as I went. A neat trick instead of reverse stitching at the end is to just overlap your stitching by about an inch to lock it in securely.

The Finishing Touch!

Once the sewing was done, a quick ironing of the hem created that crisp, polished crease. (Oh, and a little note: for darker pants, definitely use a matching thread color! I used white in the video so you could see what I was doing.)

The best part? While that first pair took me about an hour to get the hang of, subsequent pairs were a breeze, taking less than 20 minutes each! It’s such a rewarding feeling to learn a new skill, especially one that’s so practical. This whole experience, learning alongside my mom, has been truly wonderful.

Let me know if you like me to cover other sewing tips or review other sewing machine.

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