The hem is the edge of your clothing that’s been folded up and sewn tightly. Why do they hem your clothing? Well, you can always rip the seam of a hem to find out!
Just kidding, don’t do that unless you want to ruin your clothing. Sometimes you may need to hem your pants if you want to change the length of your clothing. Then again, sometimes, the seam of the hem might get torn accidentally.
In these situations, you’ll feel that you’d have been better off knowing how to sew. This may also make you question, “How do you fix a hem without sewing?” In this article, we’ll explain this process step by step.
Tools That You’ll Need
There are different fixes, and you’ll need some unique supplies for each procedure. However, for the sake of simplicity, we won’t discuss those in this section. Here, you’ll find only the supplies that you’ll need in every procedure. They are:
- Measuring Tape
Measuring tape is one of the most crucial tools that you’re going to need. With the measuring tape, you can determine the perfect length at which you need to fold the edge of the cloth. If this isn’t done properly, you’ll find that the hem is irregular, which ultimately will make your clothing look bad.
- Marking Chalk
Marking chalk is very necessary for hemming a cloth. Once you’ve measured the cloth with the measuring tape, you need to mark it with marking chalk. And once you mark it with your measuring tape, you’ll be able to hem your clothing perfectly and more efficiently.
- Scissors
Scissors are essential tools for hemming a cloth, and this should come as no surprise. If you need to cut a portion of your cloth to make it smaller, then you can do so with a sharp pair of scissors.
Then again, we highly recommend getting a small pair of scissors as well, as it will allow you to cut the small fibers and threads coming out of the clothing.
- Iron and Ironing Board
No matter which procedure you follow, an iron and ironing board will prove essential to you. You will need this to warm up the gum or adhesive tape in some procedures; but overall, you’ll need it to make your cloth wrinkle-free before you get onto working with them.
It is essential for making the hem as accurate as possible.
- Seam Ripper
Before hemming a piece of cloth, you need to remove the existing hem. For this, a seam ripper is the best tool to use. If you use a seam ripper, the overall process will become more efficient.
How Do You Fix a Hem Without Sewing?
Let’s go through the process of fixing a hem without sewing.
Step 1: Remove the Hem of the Clothing
If the hem of the clothing isn’t removed yet, then you need to remove the hem manually. Sometimes, if the hem of the clothing gets torn, people try to tear the rest with their hands.
Don’t do this. You need to get yourself a seam ripper; you can cut the thread of your clothing efficiently with that. If you use your knife or any other tools instead, there’s a high chance that you may end up tearing your cloth.
However, if you don’t have a seam ripper, you can use a sharp knife or an extra sharp pair of scissors. This is why we highly recommend getting a seam ripper.
Step 2: Measure
Once you’re done cutting the seam of the hem, you need to measure the length of the seam. When you’re determining the hem of a trouser, we highly recommend putting that on without the hem and with a pair of sneakers that’ll go with it.
If you follow this, you’ll be able to sew a perfect hem out of that trouser. Once you get the correct measurement for your hem, you need to mark it on the cloth so you get a reference point while folding.
Step 3: Fold the Hem
Once you have the edge of the cloth marked, you need to fold it according to the marker. Usually, people fold the hem by half an inch first, and then they fold it again.
Each people have their preferred style when it comes to this, so you shouldn’t bother much anyway.
Step 4: Bind the Folds Together
Here is the final step of this, and we’ll talk about several methods by which you can do this.
- With Glue
There are a lot of fabric-friendly glues out there, and you can use all of those without putting your cloth at risk. However, you won’t be able to dry clean these cloths, as that process will dissolve the glue.
This process is pretty straightforward. You need to determine the hem of your clothing, and then you need to iron the pant to make sure that it sticks the hem together.
However, make sure that you use the glues in small beads. If you apply too much of them, then the glue will spread across the clothing, and it’ll get all messy.
- With Two-Way Adhesives
If you’re looking for a more hassle-free way, then two-way adhesive tapes are the best method for you. You’ll find a lot of different types of these adhesive tapes on the market, and these are great as they eliminate the risks that glue comes with.
All you need to do is take appropriate measures of adhesive tapes according to the hem you’re making. Once you have that, put the tape between the folds of the hem. Iron the tapes so that the folds of the hem stick together, and you’re done!
This process is far simpler than the one with the glue. However, don’t make the mistake of ironing on the adhesive tape itself. Make sure you iron the cloth only with the tape underneath it.
- Temporary Way
There are times for which temporary methods are better suited. If you’re unsure about the size of the hem, even then, these can come in handy. Even if such is the case, you can always use the glues and the double-sided adhesive tapes.
However, if you use these, you’ll have a hard time taking the hem apart. You need to wash the hems with alcohol, iron them, and what not!
The best way of hemming your clothes temporarily is by using a safety pin. If you do this, you’ll face absolutely no problem in re-doing the hem all over again.
However, there’s one thing that you need to maintain here. If the ends of the safety pins are blunt, you better avoid them and find pointy ones. Using blunt or thick pins will leave your cloth damaged.
Why Should You Hem Without Sewing?
Sewing the hem of clothing is always the traditional method, and it has its benefits. However, if you’re on the run or if you don’t know how to sew, knowing how to hem without sewing can help you.
Conclusion
“How do you fix a hem without sewing?”- is a frequently asked question. There won’t be a shred of doubt left in your mind with this article.