• Home
  • Classes
  • Blog
  • About
  • Sewing Resources
  • Free Tutorials

Extending the Life of Kids' Pants, Part 2

9/19/2014

2 Comments

 
In my last post I shared some ways that I make my children's pants last longer. Those tips work really well for woven fabrics like denim and twill (most khakis). What about knits?

I'm not that experienced working with knits, but this is pretty simple. The big obstacle is allowing your seam to stretch with a stretchy fabric like knit. Here is a pair of pants that were far too long for my son, and I put a huge hem in them. This shortened them by about 5 inches.
Picture
The hem is *really* noticeable. But, for a pair of athletic pants that will most likely have a hole in the knee within a few days, who cares? To me it looks intentional because the seams are straight and the legs align. My 5 year old certainly does not care! Here's a closeup:
Picture
If you're not ready to dive into sewing with knits, how can you make a quick and dirty hem in a pair of knit pants? There are two different methods I use. One is a straight basting stitch. Since the hem will be removed in a few months' time, you want this temporary seam to be easy to remove. A basting stitch is a straight stitch with the stitch length set to the highest number, producing the largest possible stitches. On my machine that is a 5.0, though it may be different on your machine.
Picture
The second quick stitch I use for hemming knit pants is a version of a zigzag stitch found on my machine. It looks like a lightening bolt, stitch #5 on my machine.
Picture
This allows the fabric to stretch a bit at the seam. If you don't have this stitch, then a zigzag stitch set to a very narrow width will produce similar results. You could also use a twin needle, but I'm not going to get into that today.

A hand basting stitch would also work really well, and you would have more control over what the seam looks like on the outside of the pant leg.


I hope you find this helpful!
2 Comments
Ciara davis
9/21/2014 05:26:24 am

I was told you teach sewing. I haven't sewn since 8th grade home economics but would truly love to learn the basics again and work my way up to advanced basics if that makes sense.
If you don't in fact teach newbies how to sew....can you point me in the direction of someone who does? I really want to learn well enough to teach my daughter who is nearly 7

Reply
Karen link
9/21/2014 08:50:14 pm

Please send me an email and we can talk! karenkatin{at}yahoo{dot}com

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Karen Katin

    As co-owner of Stitchery in Portsmouth, RI, I teach sewing classes to children and adults. Welcome to my blog Dancing Threads RI. 

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Instagram

    Archives

    March 2020
    September 2017
    August 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Categories

    All
    Background
    Blog Reading
    Books
    Creative Business
    Crochet Bag
    Eco Friendly
    Embroidery
    Events
    Fabric Stores
    Family
    Gift
    Handmade Wardrobe
    Holiday
    How I Do What I Do
    Knitting Bag
    Knitting Inspiration
    Lil Rhody Bag
    Memademay
    Mother's Day Gift
    Parties
    Pattern Review
    Pattern Support Links
    Personal Projects
    Plastic Swap
    Product Feature
    Project Bag
    Quilt
    Selfish Sewing
    Sewing
    Sewing Classes
    Sewing Fail
    Sewing Inspiration
    Sewing Patterns
    Sewing Resources
    Sewing Tips
    Sewing Tools
    Sewing Tutorial
    Sustainable Sewing
    Three Things To Smile
    Wedding
    Work In Progress

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Classes
  • Blog
  • About
  • Sewing Resources
  • Free Tutorials