{"id":92,"date":"2007-05-18T16:10:00","date_gmt":"2007-05-18T21:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/how-to-take-up-trousers\/"},"modified":"2007-05-18T16:12:21","modified_gmt":"2007-05-18T21:12:21","slug":"how-to-take-up-trousers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/how-to-take-up-trousers\/","title":{"rendered":"how to take up trousers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A note before I begin: British trousers = American pants. I may use the terms interchangably in this tutorial after living in Canada for the past 4 years \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p>As I am all of 5&#8242; 2&#8243; tall, it&#8217;s very rare that I find trousers that aren&#8217;t too long, and yet the petite ranges are typically just <em>slightly<\/em> too short for me. So, as I have to shorten my pants every time I buy a pair, I thought you might like to see how I do it.<\/p>\n<p>The &#8216;regular&#8217; way of taking up trousers involves &#8216;invisible&#8217; stitching (i.e. only catching a couple of threads of the outside fabric). This is tricky, time-consuming, and if you&#8217;re not <em>very<\/em> careful, you can still see the stitches on the outside.<\/p>\n<p>My method leaves a visible hem on the outside, but I don&#8217;t see anything wrong with one neat line of stitching, and for everyday or casual trousers, it can even leave a nicer finish than the hidden method. Maybe you won&#8217;t want to use this method for your best interview suit, but I use it for everything else!<\/p>\n<p>You will need:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>sewing machine<\/li>\n<li>thread that matches the colour of your trousers<\/li>\n<li>seam gauge (if you don&#8217;t have one, a measuring tape or ruler will do)<\/li>\n<li>scissors<\/li>\n<li>straight pins<\/li>\n<li>sewing needle<\/li>\n<li>marking pen\/pencil<\/li>\n<li>iron<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Method:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Try on your trousers so you can see how long they need to be. Note: remember to wear shoes while you do this, or your trousers will look too short when you wear them with shoes!<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>Fold up the trousers to the length you want them to be (it helps if you have a mirror so you can see where they will fall when you are standing up straight). Adjust until you&#8217;re happy that they don&#8217;t scrape the floor but aren&#8217;t going to be too short either. Remember different heel heights will affect the apparent length, so keep that in mind.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>Pin the turn-up to the back of each trouser leg (just one pin) to stop the turn-up from falling down when you take off the trousers. This is just to give you the required length, so don&#8217;t worry about being neat. Have a final length check after pinning. Looks good? Okay, now you can get changed into something more comfortable (and don&#8217;t prick yourself on those pins!).<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/blog\/tut_images\/trousers01.jpg\" alt=\"taking up trousers\" \/><br \/>\n<em>Pinned to length at the back<\/em><br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>Measure the length of the turn-up on each leg. They should be the same, but if they aren&#8217;t, pick a measurement midway between the two.<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/blog\/tut_images\/trousers02.jpg\" alt=\"taking up trousers\" \/><br \/>\n<em>Comparing the turn-up lengths<\/em><\/p>\n<p>If they are very different, you should probably try the pants on again and check which one is right! Make a note of your measurement (for these trousers, mine is 9cm).\n<\/li>\n<li>Remove the pins and turn the trousers inside out.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>Fold up the bottom of each leg, to the length you measured above, and pin in place.<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/blog\/tut_images\/trousers03.jpg\" alt=\"taking up trousers\" \/><br \/>\n<em>Pinned 9cm turn-up<\/em><br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>Iron the fold so it is pressed into a crease.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>Mark 1 inch above the fold, all the way around both legs, then remove the pins.<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/blog\/tut_images\/trousers04.jpg\" alt=\"taking up trousers\" \/><br \/>\n<em>1 inch marked in white pencil<\/em><br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>Be brave &#8211; this is the scary part! Cut the turn-up around the lines you have just drawn, but be careful not to cut through both layers of fabric &#8211; just the turned up part &#8211; otherwise you&#8217;ll end up with capris!<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/blog\/tut_images\/trousers05.jpg\" alt=\"taking up trousers\" \/><br \/>\n<em>Starting to cut<\/em><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/blog\/tut_images\/trousers06.jpg\" alt=\"taking up trousers\" \/><br \/>\n<em>Partially cut<\/em><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/blog\/tut_images\/trousers07.jpg\" alt=\"taking up trousers\" \/><br \/>\n<em>After cutting<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Handy hint:<\/strong> you can even use the cut-offs to make <a href=\"\/blog\/denim-hairband\/\">hairbands<\/a>.\n<\/li>\n<li>With your remaining 1-inch turn-up, begin to fold the raw edge inside, so you end up with a 1\/2 inch turn-up with no raw edges visible. Pin in place as you go.<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/blog\/tut_images\/trousers08.jpg\" alt=\"taking up trousers\" \/><br \/>\n<em>Starting to fold in the raw edge and pin<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Continue folding and pinning all around the bottoms of both legs. You can iron this fold in place before sewing (I like to; it makes the sewing part easier) or just sew it at this point.\n<\/li>\n<li>Set up your sewing machine with a thread colour that matches the main colour in your fabric, for both the top and bobbin threads. Set it to a medium length straight stitch.<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/blog\/tut_images\/trousers09.jpg\" alt=\"taking up trousers\" \/><br \/>\n<em>Winding a matching bobbin<\/em><br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>Using the 1cm guide on your sewing machine (or whichever guide is just less than 1\/2 an inch) sew around the bottom of each leg.<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/blog\/tut_images\/trousers10.jpg\" alt=\"taking up trousers\" \/><br \/>\n<em>Ready to start sewing<\/em><br \/>\nWhen you get back to the start, sew over your first couple of stitches and then finish off.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>Pull the loose threads to the wrong side of the fabric. You can knot them together for added security, if desired, then thread them through a sewing needle. Push the needle into the turned up fabric, and out a couple of inches further along.<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/blog\/tut_images\/trousers11.jpg\" alt=\"taking up trousers\" \/><br \/>\n<em>Hiding the thread ends<\/em><br \/>\nPull the thread ends to make fabric scrunch up slightly, then snip off the threads flush with the fabric, so they disappear inside the fabric when you pull it flat.<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/blog\/tut_images\/trousers12.jpg\" alt=\"taking up trousers\" \/><br \/>\n<em>Snipping the ends<\/em><br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>Turn the trousers right side out and admire your handiwork!<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/blog\/tut_images\/trousers13.jpg\" alt=\"taking up trousers\" \/><br \/>\n<em>The finished seam as it appears on the outside of the trouser legs &#8211; crisp and neat.<\/em><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/blog\/tut_images\/trousers14.jpg\" alt=\"taking up trousers\" \/><br \/>\n<em>Perfect!<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A note before I begin: British trousers = American pants. I may use the terms interchangably in this tutorial after living in Canada for the past 4 years \ud83d\ude42 As I am all of 5&#8242; 2&#8243; tall, it&#8217;s very rare that I find trousers that aren&#8217;t too long, and yet the petite ranges are typically [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sewing","category-tutorials"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}