Supplies for Hemming Pants

Series Summary

Got another pair of hand-me-downs from your taller or older sibling? Maybe the store didn’t stock the right length for that otherwise perfect pair of pants? Sure they fit fine in the waist, but aren’t you tired of tripping over that extra two inches of fabric under your heel? The old roll-up trick is fine if you’re beachcombing, but hardly appropriate for the office or a night out. Fixing the hem in your pants is so easy, and you can save time and money by performing this simple operation yourself.

In this series of free how to videos you’ll get expert advice on how to properly hem a pair of pants. Fashion designer Andrew Boyd takes you through the process step-by-step, from removing the old hem and getting the correct measure, to choosing the best color and thickness of the thread, as well as the right size needle, and sewing in the new hem. By following these simple video instructions you’ll never have to worry about bunched-up pant legs, or tripping over the extra fabric ever again.

Video Transcript

"Hi this is Andrew on behalf of Expert Village.com and in this clip I am going to be explaining the basics of what you need to get started in hemming your pants. The first thing you need of course is the material you will be using. That will determine the thickness of the thread you are going to use so you will have your thread and then after that you will need to have the needles and the needles are going to be of various sizes and you can get these at any convenience store but the size of the hole of the eye of the needle will need to accommodate the thickness of the thread so it is important to know those two things before getting started. The other thing you need is hemming pins to hold the material in place while you are hemming them after you mark them. Another option you have but it is not necessary but a lot of people like to use is thread helpers which fit into the eye of the needle and gives you a larger area through which to thread the thread before pulling it through. So those usually come with most sewing kits. Then you want to have a measure of some form and typically I like to use the flexible kind because they can wrap around any surface of any type of covertures, the leg or any part of the body. So it is versatile. You can use it in many different sewing applications. Of course you will need scissors to cut the thread and any material. One option you also have is a thimble and this will fit over whatever finger you are using to push the needle through the material as you go and what it does basically it saves your finger from having to deal with pressure over time and it can kind of get sore. A lot of people in the industry don’t use these because they have been sewing so long that they have calluses build up on their finger. And finally you will need some type of either chalk or washable material to mark the material after you measured it for the hem. And those are the basic necessities for getting started in hemming pants. "