How to Hem a Suit
- 1). Put the suit, or parts of the suit you want to hem, on your body. Use a measuring tape to measure how much fabric you would like to add or subtract from the cuffs of the jacket or bottoms of the trousers. If you want to add length to the trousers or jackets, keep in mind you will only have a small amount of tucked fabric to work with -- about 1 inch. You should normally only need to hem a jacket or pants shorter by about 1 or 2 inches.
- 2). Turn the suit elements inside out so that the hem seams are visible. Take a seam ripper and undo the hems you want to re-hem. Turn the suit right side out once again and ensure that the undone hems are lying flat on an even surface.
- 3). Mark the new length of the trousers or cuffs using a measuring tape and fabric chalk. To shorten the hem of the pants or jacket, use the measurement produced in Step 1 and measure up from the old crease of the original hemline. To add length, measure down from the original hem crease. Remember, you will need at least 1/2 inch of fabric to re-hem when adding length to a garment. Mark the new hem around the entire wrist or ankle hem.
- 4). Fold the hem up inside the garment along the line marked in Step 3 so that the raw edges are not visible from the outside of the garment. Pin this new fold in place and turn the trousers or jacket inside out once more.
- 5). Sew the newly folded hem into place using a sewing machine. Use a 3/8 inch seam allowance. Turn the suit right side out again and iron around the new hem to create a crisp crease on the new hemline.
