How to Hem Pants with a French Seam

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Introduction

If your pants are too long, you can save money on tailoring by learning to hem them yourself. French seams create a clean, professional appearance with minimal effort. This form of hemming is highly effective as it will not fray over time.

This guide requires minor sewing ability. Consider reviewing guides related to sewing machine usage, such as Threading a Sewing Machine and Inserting a Bobbin.

What you need

Step 1 How to Hem Pants with a French Seam

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Wearing the garment, pin the excess material that needs to be hemmed.

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Step 2

Flip the garment inside out.

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Step 3

Measure the excess fabric that will be cut off.
Subtract an inch from the measurement. This inch will be your seam allowance.
Pin the length of the excess fabric (minus the inch of seam allowance) that will be cut off.

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Step 4

If your garment is made of flexible material, pin the existing hem in place.

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Step 5

Cut the excess length of fabric.

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Step 6

Measure a half-inch of the seam allowance fabric.
Fold the half-inch of fabric so that the right side is facing you and the wrong sides are together.
The right side of the fabric is the visible, outer side of the garment. The wrong side of the fabric is the inner side of the garment.
Pin the half-inch fold in place.

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Step 7

Pin the half-inch fold on both pant legs.

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Step 8

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Flip the pinned fabric so that the previous fold is sandwiched between the garment and a new fold.
The right side of the fabric should be facing you.
Pin the new fold.