How to Hem a Dress

May 1st, 2009 by Mike

So, you are not a master seamstress, and the idea of sewing anything terrifies you. That does not mean you can not do a few minor jobs when it comes to alterations. In fact, there are a few things that do not take a huge amount of skill or experience. With a little instruction, anyone can sew on a button or hem a dress. Hemming a dress only takes three simple steps, and if you follow these steps, you will find that you can master the art of the hemline.

Measure and measure again. The most important thing of any alterations, especially changing the hemline of a dress, is measuring. There are two ways you will need to measure. The first, of course, will be measuring how short you would like the hemline. If possible, have a live model wear the dress, so that you can see exactly how the hemline falls and you can measure how high you want to bring up the skirt’s length. Use a few pins to mark where you would like for the new hemline to fall. Make sure these pin markers are at the same length all around the dress, so that when you get ready to fold up the line, it will be even. Once you have these marks, you will be ready to go to step two, but it would be best to measure one more time to confirm you have the correct line all the way around the skirt.

Pin up your hem. Now that you have your new hemline marked, you are ready to pin the hem. If you are taking up the skirt a great deal, you will need to trim off the excess fabric in order to keep the dress’ skirt to lie properly. It is best to up the skirt while it is still on your model, so that you can get a good visual of how the skirt will lay its actual length, and your hemline measurement. Make sure that, when you fold in the hemline and place pins that you place pins about every two inches. This will make the next step much easier.

Sew your hem. Now, you are ready to sew your dress’ hemline. If you are sewing by hand, make sure you make short and even stitches for a professional look. Remove the pins as you reach them. A simple chain stitch will work just fine.

So, you can create a nice new hemline on your dress with these easy steps. It does not have to be a convoluted process. In fact, hemming your dress is quite simple.