Binder
The problem of quickly shortening the hem of a new dress or skirt, just bought trousers or jeans) often arises before us. After all, there are situations when we really need these things immediately after the purchase. How to do it quickly and efficiently?
You will need: contrasting thread for basting, "centimeter", a narrow piece of dry soap (if the product is dark) or colored crayons, adhesive tape with double-sided adhesive coating, gauze (approximately 30x30 mm) folded in half.
Adhesive tape has been used for a long time (15 years), which means that it is easy to purchase at any Fabric or Sewing Accessories store. Naturally, a specialized sewing accessories store http://www.atelyefaina.ru/shveinaya-furnitura.php is preferable - since there is always a choice.
So what kind of adhesive tape do we need? Single sided or double sided?
I will give several types of double-sided adhesive tapes that give the necessary effect for bending the bottom of products, as well as for minor repairs (repairing torn clothes and eliminating small holes, for example, when damaged by cigarette ash).
Since the result of their use is the same, and the store may not have the adhesive tape you need, I will give options for the most common adhesive tapes. The glue gossamer is a thin melt of glue in the form of a gossamer web of various configurations, on paper and without paper, of various widths.
Feel free to purchase any of the following:
1 Gossamer hotmelt. Width - 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 32, 50, 70 mm. white.
2. Gossamer "Grid". Width - 7, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40 mm. "Grid" is also on a paper basis, which is very convenient for use and storage. It is transparent due to its design.
To hem the bottom of a dress, skirt or trousers, you need an adhesive tape 10-15 mm wide. But this technology is used only for loose fabrics (silk, various synthetic fabrics, knitwear). This technology is not suitable for hemming dense coat fabrics and leather products.
Sequencing
1) We measure the exact length by which we need to shorten the product, and add 15 mm. This will be the cutting line for the excess fabric. We cut off. Then, we measure with a “centimeter” around the entire perimeter of the bottom of the product 15 mm up and draw a hem line.
Don't forget to take into account 15 mm for the hem.
We draw a hem line either with a dry piece of soap or chalk. I recommend using chalk in extreme cases, because after finishing work, it is not always completely removed from the fabric. Modern fabrics have a different structure and can retain chalk residue.
2) Lay a basting along the drawn hem line with a contrasting thread.
3) We bend the fabric 15 mm to the wrong side of the product and smooth it with an iron. All - preparation for gluing the hem of the product is carried out
4) Then we lay the adhesive tape between the main fabric and the hem line smoothed with an iron. Through a damp gauze fabric applied over the hem, gradually moving along the hem line, iron it to the main fabric, holding the iron on the gauze for 2-3 seconds. Under the action of steam, a tight connection of the hem with the main fabric occurs.
It is important not to forget that a double-sided adhesive web is placed between the hem and the main fabric, and even then it is heat-treated (glued) from the side that will be on the wrong side.
Minor product repairs
The elimination of small tears and holes on the product is achieved by applying a patch either from a flap of the fabric of the main product or from a fabric that is similar in color.
How it's done:
a patch is cut out of a tissue flap in size, repeating the shape of the damage, but increased by about 5 times (it can be less, but it depends on the size of the damage and the density of the fabric of the product). A contour is cut out of the adhesive tape, repeating the size of the patch.
In this case, it is better to use a wider adhesive tape.
The product is turned inside out and a patch is applied to the damaged area, an adhesive tape is placed between the fabric of the product and the patch, repeating the shape of the patch. Wet gauze is applied on top, and the patch is ironed to the product (time 2 - 3 seconds). If necessary, ironing is repeated.
Regardless of the style and composition of the product, you can shorten the dress in a short time without experience and special equipment. The tips below are especially relevant if you are suddenly invited to a party or other event, and your favorite dress seems old-fashioned. Thanks to our recommendations, you can modify the outfit in just 15 minutes, emphasizing the dignity of the figure.
Fittings and instruments
For work you will need:
- threads to match the fabric;
- tape measure;
- crayon, remnant or special water-soluble pencil;
- ruler;
- pins;
- scissors;
- sewing needles for handmade;
- sewing machine and overlocker (if possible).
Lace dress
This method is suitable for dresses made of suit or other dense fabric with a straight cut. The braid will give density to the cut, forming straight, even edges. Mark the desired length and secure the hem with a pin. Make a mark with crayon or remnant, draw a fold line. Don't forget the allowance. In this case, it is in the order of 1 cm. Sew the trouser tape along the upper edge on the front side of the dress. Then perform a hem and carry out a wet-heat treatment of the seam. Secure the bottom with a straight machine stitch on the wrong side or right side. Similarly, you can process the bottom of the dress with an oblique trim if the fabric is thin.
Knitted dress
If your outfit is a dress on the floor, then the bottom of the product can be processed in two ways: the first - with a cover stitch, the second - with an overlock stitch. In the first version, the seam is performed by a special machine, which is not available in every studio. But it can be done at home, spending a little more time.
Cover stitch
Measure the length of the product, setting aside 2.5 cm for the allowance. Process the cut on the overlock, hem along the marked line and lay the first line along the wrong side 1 cm from the edge of the product. The second line must be done to the width of the foot (0.5-0.7 cm) from the first line. When finished, iron the garment using the steam function.
Overlock stitch
Everything is very simple here. Measure the length of the product, adding 0.5 cm. Cut off the excess fabric along the marked line and sew a medium-width overlock stitch.
Dress by occasion
The lower cut of the dress can be processed with lace. This method is relevant for elegant products or clothes where there is already a finish. Measure the length and cut off the excess fabric along the marked line. Lace can be sewn in two ways:
- First: overcast the cut on the front side and stitch the lace.
- Second: place the lace on the fabric “face to face” and sew on 0.5-1 cm. Overcast the lace, iron the seam. Lay the finishing line along the front side of the dress by 0.1-0.2 cm.
Dress with pleated skirt
It happens that you need to shorten a dress, the bottom of which is embroidered with stones, decorated with lace, embroidery, or is a complex technological process. In such situations, shortening occurs at the expense of the waist. Step by step instruction:
- Determine the length.
- Rip out the skirt.
- Measure your current waist circumference.
- Mark up with a seam allowance.
- Cut off excess fabric.
- Measure the circumference of the skirt at the waist.
- Subtract the smaller one from the larger one.
- Divide the final number by 2.
- The result is the number of centimeters you need to remove at the side seams.
- Align the seams and sew the skirt to the top of the dress.
- Overcast the seam and perform the WTO.
Universal way
Most common method is hem and straight machine stitch. For this:
- retreat 1.5-2 cm from the intended length;
- cut the fabric
- make an overlay;
- fold the edge to the marked line and sew a straight stitch along the right side of the product for 1-1.5 cm.
impromptu method
If you do not have sewing and cutting skills, and you do not have a sewing machine, then use this method. Determine the length of the dress as above. Leave an allowance of 2.5 cm from the marked line. Double hem, iron or baste the seam. Take a needle and sewing thread of the desired color, then secure the fabric with blind stitches. The hidden seam is done carefully, prying the top threads of the two parts of the fabric with the needle. Stitches should be made oblique, small in size and at the same distance.
Remember: it is very important to visualize the whole process (sequence of actions), and then get to work. Thus, you can avoid mistakes and shorten the dress correctly.
Not all sewing operations can be done on a typewriter. Some of them need to be done manually. These include securing the hem of the bottom of the skirt. Of course, the atelier has special hemming machines, but at home you can only hem a skirt by hand.
Processing the bottom of a skirt made of suit fabrics is usually done with a blind seam. But how to hem a sun skirt, the hem of which reaches several meters, or a chiffon skirt? These and other questions are answered by the studio technologist.
How to properly hem a skirt with a blind seam is discussed in detail in the article on our website "Blind seam by hand".
One can only add that this method of hemming should be used for a skirt made of suit or woolen fabrics. Simply put, for those fabrics in which needle punctures will not be noticeable on the front side.
You can also add that the thread must be chosen not only for the color of the main fabric, but also for a certain quality. If you have already had to hem trousers or a skirt, then you probably noticed how a long thread twists into loops, forming knots. You have to cut off such a thread and start sewing from the beginning. Choose a thin, not twisted thread and a short and thin hand needle. The strength of the thread in this case is not its most important parameter.
Naturally, you need to hem the bottom of the skirt with one thread, and not in two additions. But this reminder is more for those who do it for the first time.
When you sew a voluminous sun skirt and even a half sun skirt, the question will arise before you - How to hem the bottom of a skirt, the length of which is several meters, and even along the oblique? Or another example, you sewed beautiful skirt from a light flowing fabric (chiffon) and you need to make a beautiful hem. How to do it correctly and accurately?
There are several ways, but I offer you the easiest one. Overcast the edge of the skirt with an overlock. Fix the hem with an iron (iron) and sew a line on the wrong side by 0.2. You can also make an additional line, slightly higher than the first (0.4-0.5 from the first line). Then the overlock seam will not "fall out". But this is up to you.
Moscow seam is used for hem
This is a rather complicated type of processing the bottom of the skirt, but it is indispensable when hemming a sun skirt and other types of skirts tailored along the oblique. But, nevertheless, I would recommend just overcasting the edge, tucking it up and stitching, as shown in the top photo.
It is difficult to sew a knitted skirt, it is even more difficult to hem the bottom beautifully and accurately. If the knitted fabric is dense enough, then this option for processing the bottom of the skirt is fully justified.
Overlock the cut of the bottom of the skirt with an overlock, iron it (you can sweep it) and lay two lines along the wrong side, as shown in this photo.
Hemming a skirt on a sewing machine (with a special foot)
Hemming the bottom of the skirt or hemming the bottom of the trousers can also be done on sewing machine. This will require a special foot. True, this method is suitable only for fabrics that have a loose structure. In other cases, the hem stitch thread will be visible on the right side as well.
How not to hem a skirt
This is the method usually used by beginners. But apart from being too primitive, it is also too noticeable. After you iron the skirt, the hem will be "printed" on the right side of the fabric.
This seam is called "goat". Quite a decent way to hem a skirt, but very outdated. It was used by our grandmothers at a time when the overlock could only be seen in the studio.
And this is not even a way, they just hemmed the skirt as best they could. Such hemming will lead to the fact that the thread will soon break and you will have to hem the skirt again with a high-quality, inconspicuous and neat hidden seam.
Do not glue the bottom of the skirt with cobwebs
In a sewing accessories store, you can buy a special adhesive web. She has glue applied on both sides, and she is specially designed for fixing the hem of the bottom of a skirt, trousers and other technological sewing operations.
Indeed, it is convenient and fast, and most importantly, you can easily fix any hem. You can use this web in some cases. But most often you do not need to use it to hem a skirt. First, the gossamer can print the hem onto the right side of the skirt fabric. Secondly, the bottom of the skirt will become "harder", because after heat treatment the adhesive hardens. And thirdly, poor-quality gossamer quickly loses its adhesive properties after several washes.
Therefore, if you want to hem a skirt with high quality, master the technique of making a blind seam. Try also to make a Moscow seam on a piece of fabric, perhaps you will like this treatment of the bottom of the skirt the most.
During tailoring, you have to repeatedly adjust the bottom of the skirt. Let's find out a few simple ways align the hem of the skirt.
How to align the bottom of a skirt
- After the product is ready (a zipper is sewn into the skirt and all seams are processed), you need to attach it, preferably at the waist, to the rope. Clothespins are attached to the bottom edge of the skirt.
- For a better effect, you can wet the skirt with water.
- It is necessary to leave the product in this position for several days.
- After that, you can try on a new thing and select the desired length.
- The bottom edge is sewn.
How to process a vent on a skirt
Pledge of beautiful appearance skirts lies just in the correct processing of the slots. This is a very simple operation that will not take much time.
- To make a slot on the back panel, you need to use the correct drawing.
- Slot allowances must be duplicated on both the left and right edges of the canvas.
- Allowances that are on the slot must be ironed on the left side.
- The allowance that is left to fold the bottom edge must be overcast and ironed inside out.
- The two halves of the slots are added and the level is adjusted (you need to make sure that they are on the same level).
- With pins, you need to outline the line where the product will be sewn.
- Do not forget that the left allowance must be sewn to the bottom edge of the skirt. Everything is smoothed out. The slot has been processed!
How to trim a slit in a skirt
At first it may seem that the slit on the skirt is just a minor decoration of the appearance, but in fact it is not. The incision creates not only a good overall picture, but also corrects the figure, emphasizing the beauty of the legs. Cuts very often help to turn a strict look into a more elegant one.
- While sewing a seam, immediately make a cut and reinforce the place where the stitching ended. This will prevent possible tearing of the seam.
- The seam of the incision must be ironed.
- After that, you need to cut a strip from the fabric and fold it a few more times (preferably 4) - it will help strengthen the cut.
- The fixative is sewn first on one, and then on the second stitching seam.
- To be sure, you can also flash the fixative along the edges.
- Also, do not forget to stitch the fixative on the allowances.
- Excess fabric must be cut off. That's all! The incision is processed and there is a guarantee that no trouble will happen.
How to process the hem of a skirt
There are so many ways and seams that you can process the hem of a skirt. But before starting the process, remember - you need to align and stretch the bottom of the skirt. Usually, the hem is processed with an overlock or a slanting inlay.
- First, the bottom of the skirt is folded inside out by about 1 centimeter, and the fold that has formed must be swept.
- Please note that for straight skirts, the width of the folded bottom can be equal to 3-4 centimeters, and for flared ones it can reach up to 2.
- The bottom edge can be sewn with both blind stitches and using a sewing machine.
Before work, you should consider: the density of the fabric, the thread in tone with the fabric and the style. The bottom of products made of dense fabrics is processed with an oblique trim, and it happens that it is folded over several times. The bottom of a classic-style skirt is best processed by hand, without a machine. And yet, it is desirable that the thread with which everything will be stitched is in tune with the fabric. In some cases, you can allow to buy threads 1 or 2 tones darker.
How to hem a skirt
- The skirt is tried on for the owner and marks are made with chalk, according to which it is required to narrow the product.
- The seams are steamed and ironed.
- Marks that were made with chalk are transferred inside out. You can use the pattern to connect the marks with a smooth line and thus make a new style of the skirt.
- The skirt is pinned off, and the straight seam is ground down and ironed.
- Allowances are cut to one and a half centimeters.
- The sides are cleaved with pins and stitched as close to the zipper as possible.
- The bottom edge is stitched at a distance of 2 centimeters and that's it, you get a completely new skirt.
How to decorate the bottom of a skirt
At this stage, the most important thing is fantasy and creative perception. There are a lot of design options for the bottom of the skirt, let's see examples of the most common ones.
How to process the bottom of the skirt: video
The dress is the favorite clothing of many fashionistas. If you purchased an outfit you like, but its length does not suit you, you can shorten it. In this article we will tell you how to hem a dress from different materials.
Sewing a knitted dress
Such a fabric is considered the most difficult, since overcasting with a classic seam will not work. After all, with repeated stretching, the thread will simply break. In order to shorten the outfit, you need a special flat-seam machine. She processes the product with a double seam. When viewed from the wrong side, you will see a dense thick line of tangled threads. On the front side there are two neat lines. Of course, not everyone has such a machine. Therefore, you can roll up the dress on a conventional sewing machine in parallel lines.
How to make an overlay invisible
This can be done in two ways:
- manually;
- with thin fabric lining.
The first method is suitable if the outfit is made of thick suit fabric. The thickness of the canvas allows you to lay a thread between the fibers of matter. To avoid visible puncture marks, you will need a thin and short needle, as well as a dense fishing line of small thickness. You need to process the cut with an overlock and bend the edge by 5 mm. After that, using an oblique seam, grab the cut and the fabric 1 cm above it. Try to thread the needle between the fibers so that the puncture site is not visible. After the entire edge is processed, iron the product.
How to hem a chiffon dress
To do this, you will need a thin lining. It can be soft jersey or organza. Make a pattern, which should resemble the bottom of the product in shape. Sew together the bottom of the dress and the lining. Turn the seam inside out and iron it out. Now sew the upper part of the lining to the seam on the belt. It is necessary that the length of the lining be a few millimeters longer than the length of the dress. So the product will not "pull".
Clothes made of very thin fabric can simply be overlocked. After you get rid of the crumbling threads, you do not need to hem anything. The more often the seam, the more reliable the overcasting. In this way, fabrics that crumble are treated. This is usually done in casual clothes or maxi dresses.
Seam "American"
This method of hemming a dress is used if the outfit is made of translucent fabric. You need with thumb roll the bottom of the outfit into a roller of small diameter. You should get something like a tube. Now pierce the fabric from the front side to a width of 1-2 threads. The entire tube must be covered by a thread. After work, iron the cut.
Finishing the edge with a braid
To decorate the bottom of the product, use a special braid. This method is ideal for processing the cut of suiting and plain fabrics. You need to sew one edge of the braid on the wrong side. And from the front edge, pin the tape with pins. Stitch the inlay, retreating 1 mm from the edge.
If your dress is very expensive, and you do not get along with the needle and thread, contact the tailor. There, for little money, they can sew a dress from any fabric.