Sewing jeans trousers hem #S02

1. Mark the finished hem:

If there is still a leg seam open, the most clever way is to prepare a cut hem fold. First I mark the finished hem length, in this example 40 mm, parallel to the raw edge on the right side of the fabric. You can see how wide the turn-in is on your pattern by the distance between the side notches and the hem.

2. Press hem edge:

I now iron the allowance to the inside.

Then I fold the fold in half and iron this edge as well. Here’s a general tip in between: I like to use my wooden brush as an aid and place it on the ironed edge. The wood draws the heat and moisture out oft he fabric,

which hast he effect that the edge then stays flat faster.

Now iron the double fold in place.

The area at the overstitched leg seam is quite thick. So I tap it flatter with a hammer. I put a firm pad underneath and cover it with a piece of fabric. Then I hit the spot a few times from the inside.

3. Close the leg seam:

Once the leg seam is closed, the hem can be topstitched though from the outsite.

You can also prepare the hem turn-in in the same way as just shown, when the leg seams are already closed. It’s just a little more awkward because you have to turn the trouser leg more often for the pressing work.

4. Topstitch hem:

Now pin down the hem fold from the outside.

When I stitch through the hem, I start at the inner leg seam.

The folded edge is 20 mm wide here. Therefore I topstitch it with 2 mm less width, i.e. with 18 mm edge distance with contrasting coloured thread from the outside. The stitching distance from the finished hem depends on the width oft he turn-in, as described above.

Last but not least, the hem is ironed.

Done!

If you are not ready yet and want to start from scratch, here are some links: