Sewing School - Hems 2

Last week in our "Making It Last" series we talked about ways to lengthen a hem.  Today we're going to look at the opposite problem - making one shorter!  There's a couple ways to go about this.

First is the traditional "rehemming".

1. Decide where you want the new hem.  Fold and pin.

2. Draw a line to mark the fold

3. Remove the old hem (you may need to take out the stitches if you don't have enough room to just cut it off) and trim the cuff to 1" below your marking.

4.  Fold the hem to the inside to meet the mark.  Press. 

5.  Fold again along the line, press and pin.

6.  Top stitch along the fold.

Finished.

Another, much faster option is an inside tuck right above the existing hem.

1. Decide how much shorter you need the hem to be.  Fold the cuff up, to the outside, half that distance.  Pin.

2. Sew just inside the existing hem.  (I drew a black line, since it was just about impossible to see the thread.)

3.  Press the fold up.   You can also trim it off about 1/2" from the stitching, if you had to make a very large tuck.  And you're finished!

 outside view

 inside view

One of my favorite shortening short-cuts for kid's clothes is a series of tucks.  This way they can be let out as the child grows.  It also adds a nice decorative effect.

before

after

To add tucks, simply fold the fabric somewhere above the hem, wrong sides together, and sew a small distance from the fold (how far depends on how much you need to take the item up, as well as what you want the finished tuck to look like).  Repeat as many times as you want, being sure to space the tucks evenly and make them all the same size.