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How to Fix a Busted Hem on a Pair of Pants

Lately I have been doing a bit of mending.  One of my favorite things about sewing is that I can usually repair clothing instead of throwing something out and I love it because it’s less wasteful and I get to hold onto clothes that I love a little longer.

Some repairs are more complex than others but many things you can do yourself like sewing a button back on or hemming a pair of pants.  Today I’m going to share with you a repair that I do from time to time- fixing a busted hem on a pair of pants.

how to fix a busted hem 8 pinTo use the method I’m going to demonstrate you will need a sewing machine that has a blind hem stitch.  I’ll be showing you how to do this on my Brother SE 400.  Your machine might be set up a little differently so be sure to check your manual for how to set it up to use the blind hem stitch.

Step 1: Start with a pair of pants that needs the hem fixed.  Turn the pants inside out and pin them so that everything stays in place while you are sewing.

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Step 2: Tuck the bottom of the pant leg into the inside of the pant leg.

Fold most of the bottom in but leave a little bit of the serged edge of the fabric poking out.

Step 3: Set up your sewing machine to use the blind hem stitch.  You machine’s setup may differ from mine but the stitch should look a little like the one on my screen and you will probably have to change your foot.

Check your manual for how to do this.  Forgive the lack of lighting in my sewing cave photos.  It’s in the basement.

Step 4: On the foot you use to blind hem stitch you will probably see a little bar in the middle of the foot.  Line your fabric up so that this bar goes down the middle of the divide between the main part of fabric on the pant leg and the excess fabric that has the serged edge.

Step 5: Sew all the way around the leg (or at least the portion that is busted).  Turn the pants right side out and you’re done!

On the right side of the pants you will only see the little stitches when you look super close.

So do you have any mending that you need to tend to?  I have a pair of pants I need to hem and a shirt I need to patch.  I should get on those.  I’ll be sharing about those repairs next week hopefully.

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Anne

Friday 27th of May 2016

Great tutorial! I have a Craft Gossip post scheduled for tomorrow afternoon that features your tutorial: http://sewing.craftgossip.com/?p=88147

--Anne

Cat

Friday 27th of May 2016

Thanks Anne!

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Mary Martha Mama