re-hemming a shirt

This post has also been featured on Old School!

Perhaps you have a shirt that is in great condition except for the hem. Or maybe you want to turn your husband’s XLG shirt into one you can wear. (Hey, I’m just exploring options here.) In my case I had a tank top with lace trim at the very bottom, but as you can see, it got quite holy.

Thankfully it wasn’t very noticeable, but it still got annoying that every time I would pull down my tank, I would rip another hole in the lace. It was a fairly long tank top, so I decided that I should re-hem it and have a still nice tank for layering, just no lace.

For this project you need a sewing machine, straight pins, an iron and of course a handy seam ripper.

First identify what seam you want to be ripping out. There are two ways to start ripping the seam apart. The first is to pull the fabrics apart and find stitches to rip or to rip apart the serged seam.

For the first one, pull the fabrics apart inside the seam. Like this:

Right next to my thumb you can see two small stitches. This is a great place to slide in the seam ripper.

Slide the longer end of the seam ripper under the stitches but in between the fabrics. Be very careful not to snag your shirt. With Jersey knits this is very likely. I did it accidentally a few times.

This is one way to get a seam pulled apart. However if that seems a bit scary to you (no pun intended), or if the seam is too tight, there is another way to start the separation. This is achieved by ripping the serged side of your seam. This is found on the underside of the garment. Apply your seam ripper like so.

Now rip away! The separating should look something like this.

Notice how the only thing fraying is the thread, not the fabrics.

Once the fabrics are completely separated from each other, its time to re-hem the bottom. Lay the garment flat. Line up the shoulder seams and smooth the shirt downward from the shoulders. Pull the unfinished hem, square with the shoulder seam. This will allow you to see any unevenness in the hem.

The trick to hemming jersey knit is space and the type of stitch used. Most fabrics can fold over 1 centimeter (pinkie width) and look absolutely fine. T-shirt materials just get wavier and wavier the more narrow the hem. This means when you put the garment back on you it will not lay flat. Believe me, I tried 3 times with this tank before I got smart and looked up the solution. Shoot for 1-2inch hem when ironing the hem in place. You will notice this on other t-shirts you may own.

The second thing is the type of stitch. If you are fortunate enough to own a serger, this will not be a problem. Simply serge as normal, I guess. I don’t own one, so if anyone knows the answer please let the Damsel know after class.

With a regular sewing machine a narrow, but long zigzag will do the trick in making the hem lie flat.

I’m not fussy about exact measurements with hemming, I usually just eye-ball the width of the hem and iron it into place, then secure the pressed hem with straight pins.

You can see my failed attempts at finishing the hem. Pulling out a hem 3 times is not fun.

Here is the finished hem.

Isn't it nice how flat my shirt is? Wait…that sounds weird.

I hope this expanded your knowledge of fabrics and sewing techniques, because I know I learned a lot, mostly the hard way. Enjoy your “new” shirt!