Sewing experts...help me hem a skirt?

[Jennasis]

I have NO skills with this...HELP!

I've got a skirt I need to shorten (by quite a bit...about 6 inches). It's for our MNSSHP costume actually, so there's the Disney connection!

I've turned it inside out and folded it up and pinned it to where I want it shortened. Now what do I do??? I'm reading about seam rippers and fabric tape. So lost!

1. Do I sew at the top of where I folded the material up to or at the bottom of the skirt right at or just above the fold?

2. How do I keep the stitches from showing on the outside of the skirt??

3. Do I have to remove the old hem line stitching??

4. Can anyone walk me through this step by step in plain English?

 

[kimblebee]

You sew at the top of the folded under fabric. You do not have to rip out the old hem. Personally, I would cut the fabric so the new hem is not so far up from the bottom of the skirt. Most hems are about 1/2 inch or so I believe. Good luck!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Okay, I have a couple of questions. Do you know how to hem or rip out a hem?

If you don't already know how to hem, now probably isn't the time to learn.

My advice, even if you do know how to hem, actually, since it's for a MNSSHP costume, is to buy some hemming tape. This is one brand but there are others.

http://www.amazon.com/Dritz-Hemming-Tape-Inch-20yds/dp/B000GBTA6I

Instructions will be on the back of the package, and you can leave the old hem in place. You'll need an iron to apply the tape. It's really easy and it's what I use to hem pants by preference (stays in better than a hem).

 

[Jennasis]

You sew at the top of the folded under fabric. You do not have to rip out the old hem. Personally, I would cut the fabric so the new hem is not so far up from the bottom of the skirt. Most hems are about 1/2 inch or so I believe. Good luck!

I wondered about cutting. A 6 inch hem seems awkward and ginormous, so yeah maybe cutting it down to a more manageable length is a good idea. Thanks for the tip!

So, cut it down to a smaller hem, then stitch at the top of (now rough cut) folded under piece...

And about those stitches showing through? Could I just do fabric glue? It's a cheap skirt from Goodwill and only has to last the one night for the party.

 

[clh2]

OK -

I hate hemming. I used to get beyond frustrated doing it.

Then I realized - it isn't that expensive to have things hemmed at the drycleaners that have someone who does alterations.

But - my suggestions (IF YOU MUST) are:

Iron it at the fold. (This will give you a nice crease, and will help keep things even.

Then cut it off - with maybe 1.5 inches for the hem.

And - what about using an iron-on-hem tape.

 

[kimblebee]

The stitches are supposed to show through. You can choose a thread color to match your fabric to make it less visible.

 

[Jennasis]

Okay, I have a couple of questions. Do you know how to hem or rip out a hem?

If you don't already know how to hem, now probably isn't the time to learn.

My advice, even if you do know how to hem, actually, since it's for a MNSSHP costume, is to buy some hemming tape. This is one brand but there are others.

http://www.amazon.com/Dritz-Hemming-Tape-Inch-20yds/dp/B000GBTA6I

Instructions will be on the back of the package, and you can leave the old hem in place. You'll need an iron to apply the tape. It's really easy and it's what I use to hem pants by preference (stays in better than a hem).

YES! Hem tape! I think that would be far less scary than me trying to sew.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I wondered about cutting. A 6 inch hem seems awkward and ginormous, so yeah maybe cutting it down to a more manageable length is a good idea. Thanks for the tip!

So, cut it down to a smaller hem, then stitch at the top of (now rough cut) folded under piece...

And about those stitches showing through?

Uhm. . .okay, I'm not sure a forum is exactly the right place to teach you how to hem. A hem is a stitch that put the edge on a garment so that the stitches don't show. Much.

Maybe try going on youtube. I'm sure there are videos to teach you how to hem. Youtube was invaluable to me when I was learning to knit - great how to videos all over the place!

 

[NMAmy]

I wondered about cutting. A 6 inch hem seems awkward and ginormous, so yeah maybe cutting it down to a more manageable length is a good idea. Thanks for the tip!

So, cut it down to a smaller hem, then stitch at the top of (now rough cut) folded under piece...

And about those stitches showing through? Could I just do fabric glue? It's a cheap skirt from Goodwill and only has to last the one night for the party.

Since this is for a costume, I'd cut it, iron the hem, and as snarling coyote recommended, get you some Stitch Witchery. It goes between the folds of the hem and it's a fabric glue that's activated by the heat of your iron. I use it when I have to make a quick fix or for things like dd's costumes for Halloween or school plays.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Oh. From one a lover of Halloween costumes to another: stay well away from the fabric glue. That stuff is good for sticking things on costumes and even for applying lace for a night's wearing, but it's really no good for hems. Go with the hemming tape.

 

[Jennasis]

Since this is for a costume, I'd cut it, iron the hem, and as snarling coyote recommended, get you some Stitch Witchery. It goes between the folds of the hem and it's a fabric glue that's activated by the heat of your iron. I use it when I have to make a quick fix or for things like dd's costumes for Halloween or school plays.

Absolutely.

 

[marthachick]

Just make sure that you don't cut it too short. I had a pair of pants that needed hemming. I took them to the Home Ec Dept at the high school I used to work at. The students cut the pants where they were supposed to be hemmed. They forgot to measure then add an inch and a half or so to turn up.

 

[Jennasis]

Oh. From one a lover of Halloween costumes to another: stay well away from the fabric glue. That stuff is good for sticking things on costumes and even for applying lace for a night's wearing, but it's really no good for hems. Go with the hemming tape.

Thanks so much for your help. I would never have thought of hemming tape! You've saved me a lot of extra work and frustration (and possibly winding up with a disaster)!

 

[denisem]

One more tip: When you use the Stitch Witchery stuff, they advise you to use your iron on the highest setting (cotton/linen) for a secure bond. Make sure you use a pressing cloth (I use an old linen dish towel) between the iron and your hem and bonding tape so as not to scorch (or melt) your skirt fabric.

Denise < --- been sewing for 40 yrs and still hates to hem, so uses bonding tape.

 

[disneyhand]

I second taking it to a dry cleaners that also does alterations. It doesn't cost much at our local one.

 

[shortbun]

Cut the unwanted fabric off. You should remove about 5 inches if you want it 6 inches shorter. Before you do this, fold it up, iron it and make sure that's the change you want to make. Measure at least twice, mark the cut line on the inside with a carbon paper like iten so you cut it straight. (woudln't it be easier to have someone at JoAnn fabrics do this for you? ) then iron/stich on with a machine, hem tape(this type of hem tape is not meant to handle the hem completely, it's meant to hold the thread in the hem) on the inside edge of the dress with half the tape hanging over the edge. This stops the fabric from ravelling and gives you a straight edge to work with when stiching the hem. Then you hem, with a blind stich, which is a stich that picks up only one thread about every quarter inch, all the way around the dress. The hem should be about one inch up. I always iron the crease so I don't change the length inadvertently while I'm matching fabric and moving around the hem. The thread in your very fine needle should be manageable, not too long and knotted only on one thread so only one side of the pull through stays in the fabric. The thread should be uneven allowing the one thread to pull through quickly. When you get to the place where both threads want to stay in the fabric, knot and replace your thread. I hem with a fine thread and match or contrast color, whichever makes sense thus showing less IF you pick up more than one thread in the fabric. Hire someone and you don't have to worry about it. It's less complicated than it sounds but I've been hemming since I was 7 or 8. My grandmother took in sewing for a living. OR, you could use the Stitch Witchery fabric. I don't like the way this looks but it's a costume so maybe that's not so important.

 

[pyrxtc]

Uhm. . .okay, I'm not sure a forum is exactly the right place to teach you how to hem. A hem is a stitch that put the edge on a garment so that the stitches don't show. Much.

Maybe try going on youtube. I'm sure there are videos to teach you how to hem. Youtube was invaluable to me when I was learning to knit - great how to videos all over the place!

a hem is the edge of a piece of cloth that has been sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric.

I actually like to show off the stitches in some of the hems I make. they have to be there anyways, they might as well be pretty.

I would pin the skirt to how short you want it, leaving it slightly long in the back to look the same length as when on your body, and then iron over the fold to crease it. If you don't want to sew, then grab some fusible hem stuff and put one piece right at the edge of the crease (inside) and then another about 1/2 inch from the first. Iron until fused and then cut off the extra fabric above the second piece of hem tape.