How to hem trousers using tape: step-by-step instructions, how to use, photo

What types of tapes are used for hemming trousers?

Slim, straight, flared trousers look elegant if the hem is finished with a special trouser hem tape. With its help, the bottom of the product is protected from abrasion and deformation. Buy braid by the meter in the sewing accessories department.

Braid or grosgrain ribbon

For high-quality processing of the bottom of the trousers, trouser braid is used. This is a textile product made of cotton and polyester of increased strength. The width of the tape is 15 mm, there is a slight thickening along one edge.

Comment! Rep tape (braid) is applied to the bottom of trousers made from medium and thick materials.

Processing the hem of the bottom of the trouser legs with braid increases the wear resistance of the product. It protects the edge from wear. The braid is sewn on by machine, the connection is strong, so it is not afraid of repeated washing (hand, machine). Trouser braid lasts for many years. It doesn't fade or wear out. Advantages of finishing the bottom of the product with tape:

strength;
durability;
resistance to deformation.

Spider web tape (with adhesive base)

Hot-melt adhesive tapes for hemming fabrics are made of polyamide. This is a strong adhesive connection. It can withstand light hand washing. To hem the bottom of the trousers, use adhesive tape (double-sided). It is produced in two colors (white and black) of different widths: 10, 15, 20 mm. Glue it using a hot iron and steam.

For heavy suiting fabrics, hot-melt mesh is produced. This is a type of cobweb, but tougher. It has a paper base on one side. After gluing (ironing), the paper layer is removed, an allowance is applied and heat treatment is carried out.

How to hem men's trousers with braid?

Classic models of men's trousers are made from dense materials. To finish the bottom, a special braid is used, it is called differently (trouser, grosgrain). The name does not play a special role. There are certain rules for how to hem trousers using such tape.

How to try on pants

Long pants need to be cut. Before doing this, determine their length. The fitting is carried out with or without shoes. Be sure to wear a belt if trousers will be worn with it. When a person is wearing shoes, the bottom of the trouser leg falls in the middle of the heel.

When trying on without shoes, their bottom edge is at floor level. Using this rule, the correct length is determined. They fix it. To do this, at the desired level, the trouser legs are turned to the front side, and each fold is secured with pins in the area of the crotch and side seam.

Steps to prepare the bottom of the trousers to sew on the tape

The product is turned right side out. Using a centimeter, measure the distance from the waistband to the fold of one trouser leg. Make a mark with chalk. The same distance is measured on the second leg. From a mark perpendicular to the side seam, draw a line with chalk, first on one half of the trouser leg, then on the second.

This line determines the length of the trousers. The operation is repeated with the second leg. Using a centimeter, measure the distance from the waist to the line along the side and crotch seam. They should match on both legs.

Step back 4 cm from the bottom line and make a mark. This is the allowance size. If the length of the product is not enough, then leave 2-3 cm for the hem. From the mark perpendicular to the side seam, draw a cutting line on both legs. Fold the trousers in half. Check the accuracy of the markings. Trim off excess length.

Materials for filing

In order to properly process the bottom of the trousers, the grosgrain tape is given the same shade as the trouser fabric. Before making a purchase, measure the width of the trousers (S) along the bottom line. Do the calculation:

length of grosgrain tape for processing one trouser leg L = S + 3 cm;
total consumption for both legs R = L * 2.

Important! Before use, the grosgrain ribbon must be soaked in hot water and dried. After this treatment, it will not change size after washing the product.

To work you will need threads: contrasting ones - for stitching, matching threads - for hemming. You will need a sewing machine, sewing needles and pins for chopping fabric, and scissors. To apply markings you will need:

chalk;
tape measure (centimeter);
square

Process description

The edge of the trouser legs is processed using an overlocker or a zigzag stitch on a machine. The trousers are turned right side out. To hem correctly, the braid is laid on the trouser leg with the thickening pointing up. Its end edge should extend 1.5 cm beyond the crotch seam.

To prevent the tape from moving out during basting, it is pinned along its entire length to the fabric of the trousers with pins. Make sure that the edge of the thickening on the braid falls on the bottom line. Using a needle and thread of a contrasting color, the braid is hemmed. The line is placed in the middle.

In the area of the crotch seam, the remaining end of the braid is folded. Its fold is placed on the crotch seam and basted. Adjust the tape on the machine in 2 lines:

the first is laid next to the thickening on the braid;
The second machine line is sewn on the opposite side, stitched to the edge.

Advice! A high-quality seam is made using a zipper foot.

Another seam is laid at the junction of the braid. The pant leg allowances are turned inside out and basted. Make sure that 2-3 mm of the tape protrudes from under the bottom of the trouser legs. Finish the processing of the trouser legs by hemming the hem in one of the following ways:

sew by hand with a blind seam;
sew on a machine if it has a “blind stitch” function;
Fold up the trouser seam allowance using adhesive tape.

How to tape the hem of men's trousers with adhesive tape

Measure out the adhesive tape. Place it between the bottom of the trouser leg and the seam allowance. Make sure that it lies along the edge of the allowance, but does not protrude due to the fabric. Heat the iron and run it along the bottom of the trouser leg. The adhesive tape melts under the influence of temperature and steam, firmly fixing the hem.

Hemming a product using a web has advantages compared to hand and machine seams:

nothing is visible on the front side;
The pants are hemmed quickly.

Hemming trousers, differences in working with different tapes

Depending on the type of trousers and fabric, we must use various additional materials. Thus, gossamer is not suitable for materials that require frequent washing, for expensive fabrics, too thick or thin materials, for denim.

However, if you plan to frequently change the length of the product, then the web will come in handy, since working with it takes little time and is easy to use. Gossamer shows itself well in hemming men's and women's dress trousers, since with this method of shortening the product there is no need to use a manual blind stitch, which is not so easy to handle.

This method will be especially relevant for women who often change the height of their heels and for mothers with small children, because they grow so quickly, and using this method you can easily change the length of your trousers in a matter of minutes!

Advice! This method is perfect for those who do not have an overlocker or sewing machine.

How to shorten trousers using web tape?

Shorten the bottom line using a web as follows:

We carry out all preliminary operations.
We turn the trousers right side out and fold them inward along our previously laid line, pinning the hem with pins.
Iron the fold of the trousers.
We take adhesive (sticky) tape twice the length of the trousers from the bottom.
It is very convenient to work with tape cut into pieces approximately 5 cm in length.
We place a piece of web inside the fold, the free edge of the fabric must be folded about 0.4 cm inward and pinned with safety pins. Next, iron the resulting hem. This way, the edge of the fabric will not fray or fray, but will look more aesthetically pleasing.

Important! Make sure that the cobwebs do not peek out from the fabric, as when glued it will be difficult to remove.

There is another easy and quick way to shorten pants using paper-based adhesive tape. With this method, the free edge can be overcast by hand, using an overlocker or zigzag, or left unoverlocked:

We repeat point one of the previous action plan.
On the wrong side we lay the tape with the adhesive layer down, the width of which should not exceed the width of the hem.
Iron the tape along the entire length of the trouser leg, let it cool, and then remove the paper.
Fold and iron on the wrong side.

When using both methods, the front side of the bottom of the trousers will look very nice and neat.

How to hem trousers using braid?

Working with grosgrain ribbon takes longer and is more complex, but during operation this method has proven to be more practical and durable. There are two ways to hem trousers using tape: in a circle or only along the back half of the trouser leg, which is convenient, since trousers wear out mainly only at the back.

You can find the color of the braid to match your trousers. Black tape in the studio is considered the most universal and is used to hem trousers of different colors, because when everything is done professionally and carefully, it will not be visible.

Let's consider a way to hem trousers with braid along the back half :

The preparatory work in this method is the same as in others.
We widen the side seams in the hem depending on the type of trousers; in straight trousers this value is about 3 mm.
Decant the tape with steam or soak it in water, the temperature of which should be about 50 degrees, let the water cool, then take out the tape and let it dry. If this is not done, then after the first wash or during wear, the braid may shrink and the trousers at the bottom will have a wavy shape.
We rip the side seams under the chalk stitch along the width of the tape, this is necessary in order to hide its ends. There is no need to rip the stitching!
We place the tape with the seal down, hide its edges in the opened seams - side and step, and baste 2 mm above the chalk line. This is necessary so that the trousers last longer and are protected from wear and tear.
We sew up the step and side seams in the places where they were opened.
We attach the tape to the edge or 0.1 cm on both sides, not forgetting to put fasteners on each edge.
Next, we process the bottom edge of the trousers in an accessible way - using an overlocker or manually. Be sure to press the side seams before stitching.
We pin the hem of the bottom with pins and baste it under the stitching. We check from the front side to see if the fabric is tightened by the stitching.
We stitch the bottom of the product with a hidden stitch, making sure that the fabric threads do not stretch out from the front side and that no stitches are visible.
Iron the trousers from the face - you're done!

When performing a blind stitch, it is necessary to capture only 2-3 threads of the main trouser fabric, when the folded part can be sewn through, while the stitches should give a little slack, but not be too loose, otherwise they will be noticeable from the front side.

Hemming men's trousers with grosgrain ribbon

An example of ideal men's trousers

Stages of work:

We are preparing for hemming.
We lay the tape to the crotch seam along the front side of the trousers, placing it on the previously laid lines and closing them by 2 mm. We pin it in a circle and start stitching. We sew the braid, as in the previous method, on both sides.
Overcast the free edge.
We turn the hem inward so that literally 1-2 millimeters of braid peeks out from under the edge of the trousers. This is necessary in order to increase the service life of the product.
Iron the folded edge. The most convenient way to do this is on an ironing block designed for ironing sleeves.
We hem the bottom of the product with a hidden stitch and iron it from the face.

Advice! There is also a combined method, for those cases when you don’t have time and simply don’t know how to lay blind stitches evenly. Everything is simple here - take it and glue the hem with hot-melt tape. But such a hem will only last a few washes and will have to be redone.

How to shorten trousers using web tape?

When there are children in the family, it is very convenient to have a tape for hemming trousers with an iron. They grow quickly and you need to constantly lengthen old pants or shorten new ones. With the help of a web, it is easy to shorten women's trousers made of light fabric.

The operation does not take much time. They do a fitting. How to do this is described above. If the trousers are shortened, then the trouser legs are not rolled up at the floor, but at the required height and pinned together.

Turn them right side out. Lay out on a flat surface. In the place where the fabric is pinned, place a mark with chalk. A bottom line is drawn perpendicular to the crotch seam. To bend, 1.5-2 cm are removed from it, and a cutting line is drawn using a ruler.

Compare the markings of both trouser legs. If the marks are placed correctly, cut off the excess fabric. If the fabric frays, the edge is processed with an overlocker or a zigzag seam on a machine. Perform sequential actions:

The allowance along the bottom line is turned to the wrong side.
Pinned with pins.
Iron it.
Measure out the required amount of web.
Carefully place the tape under the edge of the hem.
Pin it to the fabric to prevent it from slipping.
Pass a hot iron along the bottom of the legs so that the adhesive tape melts.

How to shorten jeans using duct tape

This method can be used to restore frayed bottoms of jeans that otherwise have not lost their appearance. But this method is also good for shortening newly purchased jeans:

We rip out the old hem and iron it.
We cut everything exactly along the wear line and mark 5-7 mm upward from this line, draw a straight line with chalk or soap.
Now you need to bend the jeans along the marked line, pin them with pins and try them on. Jeans usually wear out in this area due to being too long, so everything needs to be on time.
We choose a durable tape, as well as threads; in stores you can find special ones for working with denim fabrics.
We sew the tape along the marked line, at the end we bend its edge inward and stitch it - this way the tape will look more aesthetically pleasing and will not irritate the skin.
Next, we bend the edge of the jeans so that the tape sticks out a little on the outside, literally 1-2 mm, forming a piping, and carry out a wet-heat treatment.
We lay one more line - a finishing line along the second edge of the tape; first you need to decide on its color. Then we sew 0.1 from the edge of the tape along the wrong side of the leg.
We do the final ironing and that’s it!

Professional advice from specialists will help you adjust any items according to your height.

Features of hemming trousers with adhesive tape

The tape is not used if the product is subject to frequent washing. It is not suitable for expensive and heavy fabrics. It is convenient to use for adjusting children's clothing. And also hem models for adults if their length often changes. This problem happens to women when they wear shoes with different heel heights.

The web is used by mothers of fast-growing teenagers. When shortening the pants, they leave a large allowance. When they become short, the seam allowance is peeled off and the trouser legs are lengthened. Classic models of women's and men's trousers are hemmed using tape.

Some features of using gossamer to shorten a product:

You can’t place the web directly on the fold, you need to step back 5 mm from it;
wash the product at 60 °C;
if a wide tape is glued (more than 10 mm), the edge of the product looks rough.