How to Hem Pants by Hand With an Invisible Blind Stitch

Turn the cuff so you can see the stitching on the inside of the leg. Slide the point of a seam ripper under a stitch and push it forward to cut the thread. Work your way all the way around the hem, then pull out the loose threads. Do the same on the other leg. Go slowly so you never cut the pant fabric itself.

Have the wearer put the pants on with the shoes they will wear with them. Fold the leg up on the outside until it hits the length you want. Pop a pin in to hold it. You only need to do this on one leg. The measurement transfers to the other leg later, on the table, so nobody has to stand still for long.

Lay the pants flat on a table. Measure how deep the cuff is turned up at the pin. Domenica's is a little over 4 inches. Go around the leg with a sewing gauge and set the cuff to that same depth everywhere, adding a few pins as you go. Then fold the other leg up by the same amount so both match.

You need about 2 inches of fabric below the fold for the new hem. That leaves enough to fold over twice and hide the raw edge. Measure 2 inches down from the fold and mark it with a pen. Make several marks around the leg, then join them into a line. Repeat on the second leg.

Cut along the marked line with sharp fabric scissors, going through both layers of the folded cuff. The fabric below the line is the extra length you no longer need. Repeat on the second leg. Then take the pins out, unfold the cuffs and turn the pants inside out for pressing.

With the pants inside out, fold the bottom of each leg up by 2 inches. Check the depth with your gauge as you go around. Press the fold flat with a hot iron. A sharp crease here makes the stitching much easier and keeps the hem straight. Do the full circle of each leg before you move on.

The cut edge will start to fray fast. Roll it under so the raw edge is hidden inside the fold, leaving a finished hem about 1 1/4 inches deep. Press as you go around the leg. Then add a few pins so the hem stays folded while you stitch. A wrist pin cushion keeps the pins right at hand.

Thread a needle with a single strand and knot the end. Anchor it with two small stitches in the side seam. Angle the needle through the folded hem, then pick up only one or two threads of the pant leg right above the fold. Pull through gently. Move along about 1/4 inch and repeat all the way around.

After a few inches, stop and look. On the inside you see a neat row of small stitches along the top of the hem. Flip the leg to the outside and check that almost nothing shows. If you spot tiny dots of thread, you took too many threads on those stitches. Take fewer on the next ones and keep going.

When you get back to the side seam, take the needle through the two layers of the hem. As the thread forms a loop, pass the needle through the loop and pull it tight. Do it once more. To hide the tail, slide the needle between the layers, bring it out a little way off and snip the thread close.