How to Hem Pants – No Sew Method!

Need to hem your pants but don’t have the resources to sew them? No problem!

Standing at about 5′4″  I’m kind of a short girl. Okay, a bit less than that, I’m probably lucky to clear 5′4″ in shoes but it makes me feel better to round up. And unfortunately, I’m not proportionately short in that cute little “petite” way. In fact, someone once told me that it was like I was once tall but someone stepped on my head and squished the rest of my body down. Um, okay…does that make me “stout”? I don’t know, I don’t care, I just know that I can’t change it. So as you might imagine this makes clothes shopping difficult. Nothing ever fits quite right. If it fits in the waist the length isn’t right or vice versa. “Petite” is too short, “Regular” is okay, but usually just a tiny bit too long, and “Long” is never gonna happen.

That being said, I usually have pretty good luck with the Editor pants from Express; so when they go on sale I try to snag a pair or two. They fit pretty well in the waist but not all styles are the right length. I have lucked out and bought some that fit absolutely perfect, but the ones I got the other day were a bit too sloppy long, even in heels. For example:

But I’m a sucker for a sale and I have in the past taken them to my seamstress to have them hemmed. Since I leave for Hong Kong Wednesday I don’t have time to take them to be fixed. So, being the frugal, crafty gal I am I decided to try hemming them myself. The thing is, I can sew, but I have no idea how to hem them with an invisible seam. Maybe I need a Serger for that? Anyway, I’m going to show you how do hem your pants without sewing!

First, you’ll need some no-sew fusible fabric tape. You can find it at your favorite craft or fabric store. I think it’s only a couple dollars. Then you need a hot iron, a wet washcloth, and of course your pants.

Turn your pants inside out, flip the bottom up and press the edges making a suitable hemline. Unwind the fabric tape and cut a piece long enough for one side. Put it inside the cuff of the hemline.

Make sure no tape is poking out of the top, then place your wet towel over the area to be hemmed. Lay your iron on the wet towel and steam press for several seconds. I usually count to ten, then move, count to ten again and go over multiple times making sure to get it good and steamed but not so much that it dries and burns anything. It will depend on the fabric. Plus, I noticed since the pants are already hemmed there are multiple layers before the heat can get to the fabric tape. You’ll have to keep checking and adjust as necessary.

Once you think it’s had enough steaming, remove the iron, let it cool a bit and check. When it works properly it should have a nice solid seam like this:

Then do the other side the same way and obviously do the other pant leg. You may or may not be able to see where the fabric tape is. But, sometimes it doesn’t always take so well and you’ll have loose parts like this:

Some parts adhered very well while others didn’t take at all. I tried getting the pants wet, using a towel, not using a towel, but I couldn’t get it all to work. Not to worry…I simply grabbed my fabric glue and touched up the areas that didn’t take to the iron. Fabric glue is also available at craft or fabric stores but it’s a bit pricey in my opnion; I paid over $8.00 for this bottle. But, I will say it has come in handy on multiple projects so it’s worth it.

We’ll see how they hold up with wearing and washing, but I think it worked well enough. Remember before:

and

and here is after:

 

If you haven’t played around with fabric tape & glue I highly recommend it. Andy’s favorite pair of jeans are patched to the point they’re almost entirely a handkerchief held together with fabric glue, fabric tape, a bit of blue jeans!