How to Use a White Sewing Machine 1418 for Hemming Pants

Shorten long pants with a simple hem.

The White 1418 model sewing machine is a basic sewing machine, but it includes all of the features necessary to hem a pair of pants. Take your time if you are new to sewing and performing basic clothing alterations, as a mistake during any part of the process could leave you with a lopsided hem. A little attention to detail and patience will allow you to render a perfect hem with your White sewing machine.

Difficulty:

Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Scissors
• Pins

1. Cut the existing hem off of the bottom of the pant legs with scissors unless doing so will make the legs too short. You need at least 1 inch of pant leg extending past the desired length in order to sew the new hem.

2. Fold the bottom of each pant leg inside the pant leg until you are satisfied with the length. Secure the folded pant legs with several pins.

3. Trim away all but 1 inch of the excess material from the fold with scissors. You now have folded pant legs of the appropriate length with 1 inch of material folded inside each leg.

4. Fold the excess inch of fabric in half carefully without disturbing the original fold. This traps the unfinished edge of the pant legs inside a fold so that it will not be visible. Hold all of the folds in place with pins.

5. Turn the knob on the right side of your White sewing machine to raise the needle to its highest location. The needle will move up and down as you turn the knob, so don't worry about turning the knob in any specific direction.

6. Place the open end of one pant leg over the arm of your White 1418 sewing machine so the folded area of your pants is directly below the needle.

7. Turn the top knob on the front of your machine to select stitch number 9, which is a tight zig zag stitch called the hem stitch.

8. Turn the lower knob on the front of your White 1418 sewing machine to the number 2 setting. This is the stitch width setting and will result in a tight and secure stitch on your pants.

9. Sew a seam approximately 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch from the bottom of the pant leg. Push the fabric through the machine gently as if you were sewing a straight seam. The needle will move back and forth quickly to create the hem stitch. Continue to sew until you reach the beginning of your stitching and overlap the starting point by one or two stitches.

10. Press the blue reverse button---labeled with a capital R---in the center of the stitch width knob and hold the button firmly while you sew a few extra stitches onto your hem. The sewing machine will run in reverse and secure the stitching to avoid a loose hem or unraveling.

11. Raise the needle as you did in Step 5 and gently pull the pant leg away from your White 1418 sewing machine. Snip the thread with scissors to finish the pant leg.

12. Repeat Steps 6 through 11 with the remaining folded pant leg to finish hemming your pants.

References

• White Sewing: 1418
• "The Complete Photo Guide to Sewing"; Singer; 1999