You have found a beautiful suit pant but it turns out to be too big? This is often the case since brands prefer to make pants too long (and that the customer shortens via a hem) than to make them too short and scare away tall men.
If you bought the pants in a store, the best thing to do is to ask the hem directly to the seller. He will take your measurements and send it to his favorite tailor. They often have partnerships with trusted professionals.
But, if you bought it online, it is up to you to take care of the hem.
Take the right measurements
Match your pants to the shoes you’ll wear with them. A hem size is not calculated in socks! Also, go through the inside of the pants because it can make a small difference on the length.
For suit pants, I see many men wearing them too long. They should fall over your shoe without obscuring much of it and only have one crease at the calf/shin area.
Often there are four folds because men don’t want the socks to show when they sit down. However, this is perfectly normal and you should even play it up with elegant or even contrasting socks. Italians love this style.
Indicate the right size by putting pins to make the pants fit properly.
If you don’t want to be a seamstress, now is a good time to take your suit pants to the seamstress. Otherwise, shop at the online haberdashery creavea.
Do the hem yourself?
You’ll need a few accessories like pins, a thimble, a pair of textile scissors, thread in the color of your pants…
Take the scissors and cut your pants a little bit below the pins meaning the size needed to have a perfect pair of pants. Then fold the remaining fabric inside your pants making a straight line on the bottom (otherwise you will have a strange bottom!). Put pins back in to hold it all together without having to put your hand in.
Take the needle you bought with your sewing supplies. Work on the pants inside out, it will be easier.
Start to make a few holes called “stop stitches” that will stop your seam without making a knot. Don’t space each stitch too far apart to make sure the thread doesn’t come loose at the first press.
Ideally, separate the entry and exit by only a few millimeters and each stitch by about a centimeter.
Be careful not to pierce everything with your needle so that the seam is not visible when you wear the pants. That would look a little ridiculous.
Apart from your pants, you can also hem the suit jacket at the wrist. However, this is much more complicated and I’ve even seen seamstresses mess up. So, I advise you to go to a quality craftsman for this job.
