Hemming Trousers and cuffs!
Courtesy of Jullie Wallace owner of the Sew Couture List available via Quiltropolis.. if you are not yet a member do join.. outstanding information, lots of helpful people!
[email protected] (Julie Davis)
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 11:43:16 -0500
Someone asked me to post my instructions on cuffing trousers:
Mark the front length on each leg.
Place your trousers flat on a table with the four leg seams lined up and the creases smooth. I am right handed and work with the trouser waist to my left and the legs to my right.
Match up the front marks and ignore any buckle this creates above the mark, but make sure the legs are smooth from the mark down.
With a straight edge mark an imaginary straight line from the front to the back of the legs.
Drop the back 1/2-3/4 inch to create a slight slant in the straight edge. The wider the pant leg, the larger this slant can be - if the pants are very straight/narrow you can not obtain much of a slant.
Hold down the straight edge and chalk this line.
Flip the top leg up over your hand that is still holding down the straight edge and chalk again - you will be marking the insides of each leg.
Flip the bottom leg up and over your hand and mark the outside
of the bottom leg.
Now - if you are NOT wanting cuffs you would simply cut off any excess beyond your desired hem allowance with either pinking
shears or a straight shear and finish with tape or serging.
To work the slant in to the hem you can clip the front crease in
the hem allowance a little or open up the side seams a little.
This allows the hem allowance to spread and accommodate the bias
you created in slanting the hem slightly.
For cuffs (which are typically 1 1/4 to 1 3/4" depending on the
width of the leg) you move your straight edge down from the first
mark the desired cuff width. For sake of instruction I'm going
use 1 3/4 " cuffs.
Mark this new line as you did the first.
Move the straight edge down another 1 3/4" and mark again.
Move the straight edge down 1 1/4" (slightly less than the
desired cuff length) and mark again.
Pink or cut/finish the edge on this last line. (open sideseams a little if necessary, but do not go beyond the nextline)
So before you go on I will refresh your lines:
First line - hem length
Second line - cuff width
Third line - cuff width
Fourth line - slightly narrower than cuff width
(this is your hem allowance)
After finishing your hem edge you will fold the hem in on
the second line. When you do this lines 1 and 3 will be
lined up on top of each other. Hem with a blind hem (preferred)
or top stitch on machine (it will be hidden by the cuff).
Press all around, do not worry about creasing - it's ok to press the crease out on the bottom.
Fold up your 1 3/4" cuff all around and press.
Crease through the cuff.
Your top cuff edge will extend a little beyond the hem allowance
inside. (hence the reason that line was narrower than the first
two)
Neatly tack the inside of the cuff to the trouser leg to hold
cuff up. You can also "stitch in the ditch" through all layers.
Ta da! Perfect cuffs.
Julie Davis
Wallace Davis Designs ~ Monticello, IL
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From: Bill Jones
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 10:25:01 -0700
Julie's instructions are perfect!
an added tip for men's trousers, ...
I cut a piece of the trouser fabric ( from the scrap left over )..about
one inch wide by three inches, and hand sew it to the inside back of the trouser leg hem.. This prevents wear on the trouser from the back of the shoe.
This was done by the tailor on my first suit, and I've copied it ever since.
Bill