How to Hem Over a Hem

Clothes need a second hem for many reasons. You may need to hem a hem because your pant legs have scuffed the ground one too many times, or maybe you need to shorten the length. Whatever the reason, it is not too difficult to hem a hem as long as you follow a few guidelines.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Preparing the Clothes

1. Clean the clothes you wish to hem. Remove any stray strings or thread.

2. Measure the length of your leg. Stand on a raised platform while wearing the clothes to be hemmed. Allow a second person to measure how far from the bottom up the hem should be.

3. Pin the hem into position, step off the platform and take off the article of clothing. Pin the hem under so that it is in the correct direction for hemming.

4. Iron the clothes along the new hemline. Keep the pins in place so as not to alter the measurement.

5. Thread the needle with like-colored thread and begin to hem.

Hem a Hem

6. Knot the end of the thread.

7. Stitch the first stitch. Begin this stitch by unfolding a piece of the ironed and pinned material. Start your stitch there, then fold the material back up and replace the pushpin. This will hide the end of the thread. Pull the needle through and out the front of the clothing, picking up only a very small amount of the outside material.

8. Bring the needle back out the material's underside where you began but come all the way through the material.

9. Tie a knot in the thread and begin the second pass. The knot will keep the hem from unraveling.

10. Move around the garment until you complete an entire loop around the hemline. Hide the final stitch in the same way you began the hem, and you are finished hemming a hem.

Tips & Warnings

• Set a full length mirror across from you to see if the measurement in Step 2 looks right to you.