How to Hem Pants with a Vent: The Nuances of a Neat Finish

Step 1

If you need to shorten pants with a slit at the hem (a vent), this quick tutorial will help you do it quickly and neatly while avoiding mistakes. Beginner sewists will find it helpful to learn what measurements to take and how to properly restore the vent after shortening.

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Step 3

Where to start?

First of all, measure the length of the vent itself and the hem allowance. In our example, they are 5 and 6 cm, respectively. That means for further calculations, keep in mind that you need to take 1 cm more for the hem allowance. Suppose we need to take off 5 cm in length. To do this, first unpick the seam and fold the hem allowance out to the right side, pressing it lightly with an iron.

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Step 5

We need to take off 5 cm, so measure up from the bottom 5+1 cm and another 5 cm (the vent and the future hem allowance). Mark the new fold line and trim the excess fabric. IMPORTANT! Fold the pants up along the marked line and check if the widths match. If the pants taper toward the bottom, the difference may be more than 1 cm. In our case, it is 1.5 cm.

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Step 7

How do we fix this difference? Divide 1.5 cm in half, which gives about 0.7 cm each. This is exactly how much you need to taper the pant legs along the sides. Draw a new line.

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Step 9

Unpick the seam up to the mark where the vent will be, and pin it in place.

Start sewing.

Stitch along the new side seam line, then serge the bottom of the pants.

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Step 11

Fold the vent in, stitch it, and carefully turn the corners right side out.

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Step 13

Before hemming the bottom, check once more that the vent does not gape, and steam it with an iron.

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Step 15

Stitch along the hem line to secure the fabric.

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Step 17

The job is done. Finished like this, the pants will fit great, and the slit will never gape or ride up.