PLEASE help me hem some pants!!

[KerriMc]

Hello

I am hoping some more experienced sewers can help me out here. My oldest dd is built quite solidly (for lack of a better word) ... poor thing is the spittin image of me actually ... anyways, I need to buy her a pant size that is always FAR too long for her, even though she is quite tall (she is almost 6 yrs old). I had five pairs of pants hemmed for her at the beginning of the school year, but she has just had a growth spurt again. I have purchased a few pairs of pants with the great sales after Christmas, but they need to be hemmed. I'd like to be able to do it myself, but I am afraid !!. I tried to hem a pair of pants for her before that were made of stretch material and I failed miserably. (It was also the night before we were leaving for Florida and probably around midnight ... maybe didn't help that I was stressing a bit???) ...

Anyways, I think I need to be able to do this on my own as it is a waste of time to constantly take her over to the seamstress and I dont' want her to think she is the only one that has to have this done. I do sew (Halloween costumes - simple ones!) and I do quilt a lot (machine) ... so does anyone have any good tips or hints for what to do or NOT to do???? I did buy a stretch fabric needle for my machine ... do I need to adjust stitch, tension, or anything??? The needle alone will work?

I have a pair of cords, two pairs of velour pants with some stretch in them, a pair of "track pant like" pants, and a pair of flannel pj pants. I am just so afraid of screwing up!!!

PLEASE HELP ME!!! THANK YOU!!!!

Kerri

p.s. I would have posted on the sewing/craft section, but thought I might get a few more replies here!!

 

[buzzlady]

What I have done with DS10 stretch pants (if they aren't so long that they would bunch around his knees) is just flip up the hem once and sew them, making a "tunnel". Then I put elastic through the "tunnel" and sew the ends of the elastic together. Then close the "tunnel". This way the pants are contained around his ankles and don't drag and you can put the extra material over the elastic so that you'd never know that there was elastic. As he grows, the length grows with him. I hope that made sense.

For his non-stretch pants I just got brave enough this past year to cut and hem them myself. I did quite well and saved $8 per pair. Good luck.

 

[famofsix]

my friend flips the pants up too (on the outside) and stitches two stiches on each side of the flip up.
These were in style in the store but I am not so sure now.
Maybe you could find someone with a machine that would be willing to do it. My neighbor is a seamstress out of her home and she would do them cheap(2 bucks a pair). She would also teach me how if I wanted (but I haven't taken her up on it)

 

[tevagirl]

Duct tape them.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

Sorry, I don't have sewing advice, because I'm a terrible seamstress, but my dd is in the same boat. I just turn her pants up and sew them with the sewing machine. The seams are crooked and it looks terrible, but she's nine and doesn't notice or care. Neither do any of her friends or classmates.

Hopefully I will get better at it, or I will start using a seamstress, before she's old enough to care what the seam looks like.

 

[famofsix]

Duct tape them.

I duct taped my sons for a wedding! it worked perfectly. HAHA

 

[bobcat]

Duct tape them.

If you didn't sew at all that would be my answer to you! Are you planning on being able to adjust these pants as she grows taller? If not you can use iron on seam tape for a quick fix.

I always hand sew my kids pant hems. It takes a little while but I want to be able to lengthen them if I need to and if I hand sew them I can leave the extra fabric and adjust it so it is not too bulky.

I found written directions for you

http://www.ehow.com/how_10856_hem-pants.html

and a video

http://www.expertvillage.com/interviews/hemming-pants-video-series.htm

 

[goofyforlife]

Duct tape them.

Along those lines..... We used double sided tape to hem my DD's Poms costume pants.....

I knew she would need them for a few years....

That tape survived the washing machine the first season...(5-6 times)

Last season we only needed to take the tape out and all was well (My DD is a weed and is now taller than me approaching 5'9")

 

[KerriMc]

Thanks for the tips ... I don't think I'll use duct tape though ... I'm going to be brave and try this on the weekend. The worst I can do is sew them a little off kilter ... she'll be happy no matter what!! Plus they really only have to last the rest of the season since they were fairly inexpensive to begin with!

Kerri