How to Mend: How to Fix a Hem on Dress Pants

Learning basic clothing repairs will save you some serious money.  Have you ever had a pants hem that’s come undone or fallen down? 

I'm going to share a repair I do from time to time – fixing the undone pants hem using a sewing machine's blind hem stitch.  The end result is stitches that are almost invisible on the front of the garment.  So very professional.  

It's remarkably easy to extend the life of your garments.  Besides this pants hemming tutorial, some other simple fixes we have are repairing holes in jeans, replacing elastic, sewing on a button, and other mending tutorials. If you have a pair of pants that are too short, check out our How to Lengthen Pants tutorial.

HEMMING PANTS WITH A SEWING MACHINE

The blind hem stitch can be sewn by hand or machine. When sewing the hem by hand, the stitches are hidden inside the fold of the hem. 

Sometimes the pant hem that needs fixing only has a serged raw edge. This is the time to quickly and easily rehem the pants using a sewing machine and the preprogrammed blind hem stitch. 

The hardest part of this machine stitched hem technique is knowing how to fold the fabric.  But once you understand the method the rest is simple.

Learn more on how to sew a pants hem by watching our video Or keep reading this post for simple clear instructions on how to easily repair a pants hem.

What is a blind hem stitch?

A blind hem stitch is a way of hemming where the stitches are almost invisible on the front of the garment or project.  Today, even basic sewing machines have this stitch preprogrammed into the machine.  If your sewing machine has the blind hem stitch, it will look something like the following picture.

If you using the hemming technique for the first time, it is better to test it on a piece of scrap fabric first so you understand it.

how to sew a hem on the sewing machine

STEP 1: folding the hem on the pants

Doing the blind hem stitch with a sewing machine is quite easy once you understand how to manipulate the fabric.   

Start with the pair of pants that needs the hem fixed.

Turn the pants inside out and with straight pins, pin the hem close to the fold so that everything stays in place.

STEP 2: preparing the hem

Fold the bottom of the pants inside the pants leg (which is the right side of the pants) but leave ¼” of the serged edge of the hem sticking out at the top. Pin to hold in place the hem and pants leg together.  Do this around the whole pant leg. 

STEP 3: Thread machine

Thread the sewing machine and the bobbin with the color thread that matches the pants, if possible. If it’s not an exact match, choose a slightly darker color than a lighter color.  A lighter color thread will stand out more.

STEP 4: attach blind hem foot

If you have a blind hem foot, attach it to the sewing machine. A blind hem foot should look like the above picture with a little vertical guide bar in the middle of the foot.

If you would like to buy a blind hem foot, try a blind hem foot universal one like one of these.  Just make sure to read the description and make sure it will fit your machine.  For under $10 you can purchase one and it will be a lot easier and neater making the blind hem stitch.

STEP 5: Select the blind hem stitch

Set up your sewing machine to use the blind hem stitch.  Your machine may be different from mine but the stitch should look a little like this.

STEP 6: sewing hem

Slide the fabric with the wrong side up, under the presser foot with the fold of the pant leg against the presser foot's vertical bar guide.  I like to start on the inside leg seam.  

Lower the presser foot and slowly begin stitching.

The blind hem stitch will stitch a few straight stitches and then a zigzag stitch.  The straight stitches should stitch in the hem section of the fabric and the zigzag stitch just barely stitch into the main fabric at the fold. You may have to adjust the stitch width to ensure that it is a small stitch.

Continue slowly stitching all the way around the pants leg (or the portion that needs fixing).   As you stitch along, remove the pins.  Don't stitch over them!

STEP 7: turn pants right side out

Turn the pants right side out and press the hem. 

The stitching is almost invisible on the right side of the fabric.

I love blind hemming with a sewing machine.  It's a fantastic and fast way to complete a hem.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and bookmark our page for future reference.

We also have a tutorial on doing the blind hem stitch by hand here.

Happy Sewing!

MENDING TUTORIALS

• How to Shorten Dress Pants with Hem Tape
• Learn How to Fix a Stained Shirt by Tie-Dying It
• How to Patch Small Holes in Pants
• How to Patch Holes in Pant Legs
• How to Mend a Ripped Bed Sheet
• How to Hem Knit Pants with a Double Stretch Stitch (Twin needle / Double needle)
• How to convert a flat sheet to a fitted sheet