Apparel Search Sewing Guides

Hemming & Basic Hand Sewing

Most people do not start sewing by making a dress. They start because trousers need hemming, a button came off a coat, or a favorite shirt split a seam — and a needle and thread fix all three for pennies. This guide teaches those foundational repairs properly: hemming by hand and by machine, sewing on buttons that stay on, and mending seams that hold. It is the most immediately useful page in our Learn to Sew guide.

Hemming: Measure, Mark, Then Sew

A good hem is decided before any stitching: try the garment on (with the right shoes for trousers), pin the new length at several points, then measure the pinned line from the floor or from the existing hem to keep it even all around. Press the fold, trim the excess leaving a hem allowance — about 1½ inches (4 cm) for trousers and skirts, less for lightweight fabrics — and finish the raw edge with a zigzag or a turned-under quarter inch so it cannot fray.

Hemming by hand

For an invisible result, use the slip stitch: anchor the thread inside the fold, bring the needle out, catch one or two threads of the garment fabric directly above, slide the needle inside the fold for about a quarter inch, and repeat. The thread hides inside the fold and the outside shows only the faintest dimples. On tailored garments, the catch stitch — loose diagonal crosses worked between the hem edge and the garment — trades a little invisibility for flexibility and strength.

Hemming by machine

A straight stitch near the top edge of the folded hem is the workhorse for casual clothes, curtains and anything where a visible line is acceptable. For dressier trousers and skirts, the machine blind hem folds the hem back so the machine catches only a thread or two with its zigzag bite — nearly invisible outside, much faster than hand work. Practice the fold on a scrap first; the first attempt at the fold is confusing for everyone.

A note on rolled hems

Sheer fabrics — chiffon scarves, silk, organza — take a rolled hem: the edge is rolled into a tiny tube and stitched as it rolls, by a special machine foot or painstakingly by hand. Know that it exists and what it is for; it is a second-year skill, not a first repair.

Hem Trousers, Step by Step

Sewing on Buttons

Mark the position through the buttonhole with the garment fastened. For a flat button, bring the needle up through one hole, down through the diagonal (or partner) hole, and repeat four to six times per pair of holes; on coats and trousers, finish with a thread shank — wrap the thread several times around the strands beneath the button so it stands proud of the fabric and the buttonhole can sit under it without strain. A shank button already has its loop built in: sew through the loop several times, flat against the fabric. Always fasten off with a few small stitches on the underside, and sew a spare button into an inside seam allowance while you are at it.

Mending Split Seams

Turn the garment inside out and find the full extent of the split — it usually extends a little beyond the visible opening. Pin along the original seam line, then backstitch by hand (or straight stitch by machine) directly on the old line, starting and ending an inch inside the sound stitching so the repair ties into the original seam. Press the seam as it was pressed before. Small holes and worn patches follow the same principle: support the area, stitch into sound fabric, and when the garment is washed and worn the mend all but disappears.

Holes are the neighboring problem, and they call for weaving rather than a line of stitching: decorative darning and patching rebuilds the fabric itself across heels, elbows and worn spots — in yarn matched to disappear, or in a contrast color that turns the repair into the design.