Scoring a deal on some sweatpants feels awesome, right?! I found this pair at Kohl’s for only $9. I love french terry sweats! They are super comfy and soft next to my skin.
Unfortunately, they were waaaay too long!
I probably would have had to put on a pair of 6″ heels just to stop tripping on the hem! Being petite has its perks: airplane seats, low ceilings are not an issue, you will always be ‘cute’ and no one can see your nose hairs! But it’s definitely annoying that a lot of clothes don’t fit right off the rack.
For me, even the ‘petite’ jeans in my size are just a little too long.
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I didn’t want to pass on a good deal so I decided to shorten by sweatpants, and now I will show you how!
How to Shorten Sweatpants – Tutorial:
You will need:
- Marking Tool with disappearing ink – I love frixion pens!
- Paper Scissors
- Fusible Tape
- Fabric Scissors
- All Purpose Thread
- Stretch Twin Needle
- Sewing Machine
While wearing your sweatpants, place a pin where you want the hem of your pants to end. (This is the fold line.)
Remove the pants and move them to a flat surface. Decide how deep of a hem you want and mark that distance below your pin. I wanted a 3/4″ hem, so I took the sweatpants off and measured 3/4″ below the pin. This is the cutting line. Measure the distance between your initial mark and the existing hem.
For example: The distance between my blue mark and the edge of my pants was 4 1/4″. I marked my cutting line 4 1/4″ above the edge of my pants.
Using your scissors, cut along the cutting line. Repeat with the other pant leg.
Folding up the Hem with Fusible Web:
Apply strips of fusible web (I use 2 – 2.5 inch long strips) near the edge of the wrong side of the pant legs.
Remove the paper film on the fusible web. Sometimes the paper film doesn’t want to pull off. Wedge the tip of a sewing pin in between the edge of the film and the fusible web.
Now the edge is free and you can pull the rest off.
You are now ready to fuse this in place!
Fold the hem over 3/4″, marking with your seam gauge, and fold the hem up. If you make a mistake, just pull the fabric apart and try again. Once you have it where you like it, press your fingers into the hem and that will help it stay put. Give the hem a good press with lots of steam!
Hemming with a Twin Needle:
Using a twin needle, stitch the hem in place 5/8″ from the edge of the right side of the fabric.
And that’s all there is to it!
Notice the back side of the stitch. Even though the machine is set to straight stitch, the back side looks like a zig-zag. Pretty cool, huh?! This gives the stitch a bit of give so it’s less likely to break when stretched.
The great thing about using the twin needle on your sewing machine is you get the ‘look’ of a coverstitch (a stitch sewn on a coverstitch machine) on your project, it’s easy to do, and it looks super professional! No one will ever guess you hemmed your pants!
Are your sleeves too long? You can use the steps in this tutorial to hem sleeves!
Do you like tutorials? Check out the menu for more sewing tutorials!
This post was originally published in 2012. It has now been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
Awesome! I am vertically challenged myself. This is a great project for me as I am a new sewer that needs LOTS of hemming!
I found your blog and I liked it very much!! I will follow you!! Best regards from Greece!!
Thanks for this clear and simple tutorial! Thanks to you, my teeny tiny mother in law now has correctly fitting sweatpants!
I don't have a twin needle yet, so I just did two rows…. a little wobbly in places, but my thread is an exact match for the fabric so it's not noticeable.
Thanks again 🙂
Hello, great right-to-the-point instructions. I was thinking I'd hand-sew, I am not so good (not sew good?) using my sewing machine yet. But I'll try it on some scrap jersey knit first. I guess the fabric I cut off the bottom before I sew.
But I have a question, related to the comment above… What if I don't have a twin needle? I don't think I can sew twice like Blacey did. It would be a mess if I tried that. For all I know my machine does twin needle and it is just a matter of sticking one in there. I will look in the manual. I really need to haul my machine in somewhere and take a class or two. I thought I could learn it myself, I sewed a ton on my Mom's good oldfashioned Singer. But This new one with all the settings and stitches is not proving to be very user friendly .
So. What do I do if I don't have a twin needle?
Thanks 🙂
If you don't have a twin needle, you can use a ballpoint needle and sew the hem with a regular zig-zag stitch. Good luck!
Really an post post and nice creativity! you can find such a good collection of
sweatpants at very affordable prices!
Great Idea.. I liked it very much!! I will follow your instruction and make a sweatpants shorten like this..
http://www.apparelnbags.com/jerzees/index.htm
Just picked up this pair at Salvation army (seriously, just like them including how long they are) and was looking for ways to hem them by machine! I don't have a serger (yet) and want to try the zigzag method-obviously you do have a serger but do you have any recommendations for width and stitch length?
Laura, just zig-zag the edge on the machine and then make a 3/4" hem. Get a twin needle and stitch the hem in place like I did. Any zig-zag width and stitch length is fine as long as it is not stretching the fabric out. Good luck!
Regarding using the zig zag instead of a serger: Mark your cut then put in your zig zag before cutting, this really helps prevent the curling. To hold the help while sewing try seam stick, thin double sided tape available at sailrite.com.
Thanks for the tips, 3 pairs done already. I have never owned sweats before because they were always too long.
Great information!!! My mom also is very petite all pants must be hemmed. I have a singer machine that I have purchased the double/twin needle. I think you said to see hem on right side of material….my question is what kind of thread should I use? Or does it matter? What size stitch should I use?
Hi Bonnie! Yes, I hem on the right side of the fabric. Use regular polyester all-purpose thread. (Polyester is stronger than cotton and is less likely to break when being worn.) The stitch length will vary depending on the fabric you use, but I usually have mine at a 3.5-4 stitch length.