How to Hem Linen Pants Easily (Curtains, Skirts, Tablecloth)
To get that professional look you should finish any sewing project with a nice hem. Hems have a way of making the clothing item nice and neat. It is a little more work but the end results are worth the energy. Then when you use linen, you stay cool all day long.
Linen is an easy fabric to sew with. It doesn't slide or move that much on you when you sew the fabric. Make sure you know where you want to raise or lower it. Remove the old hem thread and then pin the new hem in place. Then press the hem in place and sew it back up.
To learn how to hem linen pants and other linen made items just continue to read our article. It is filled with the information you need to hem just right. You can leave the extra material inside the pant leg or remove it.
Hemming Linen 101
Can You Hem Linen Pants?
Yes, the fabric is very easy to work with and there should be no problem hemming linen pants. The method should be about the same as it is with other fabrics. Hand stitching is a must if you want the job done right.
Also, you should pin the hem where you want it and press the fold so you know exactly where you want to sew. It is vital to get that crease nice and straight or you may end up starting all over again.
If you are raising the hem up some, then it might be best to cut away the extra fabric. That way the wearer doesn’t get scratched or tickled as they walk.
How to Hem Linen Pants
It is probably best if you did not use your sewing machine. The best hems were done by hand and it is smart to stick with the best way possible. That way your hems will look professional.
Hand stitching may take a little more time but the stitches should hold better. Or you can use some fusible material and iron the hem into place. Just make sure to use a pressing cloth so direct heat won’t scorch the linen material.
Use the proper thread so the colors won’t clash and the stitches won’t wear out. You will want a stronger thread as the hem is in a high use area.
How to Hem Linen Pants by Hand
The first step in hemming by hand is to iron the pants. This removes any creases or wrinkles and makes the hem look a lot better when you are done. Next, you will need to unpick the current stitches if you are re-hemming an older pair of pants.
Then measure where you want the hem to go and remove any extra fabric. You should have made a chalk line mark to get the fabric nice and straight. After you have done this, you should press the new hemline to get the fold just right and straight.
A whip stitch may be the fastest stitch you can use but you can choose the one you prefer. The stitch that holds the best is the go-to hem stitch you should use.
Can You Hem Linen Curtains?
Linens are like most fabrics. No matter if it is used for dresses, skirts, pants, or curtains you should be able to hem the fabric with little trouble. One tip you can use is to look at the current hem you want to change and try to mimic that style.
The style on your curtains is done in a way to make them look their best. That is what you want for your new hem. So take a few moments and study how your current curtains are hemmed.
Once you study the current hem you may notice that they have a deep hem design. That design helps the curtains hang better. That means you do not want to remove too much fabric when you re-hem the item.
How to Hem Linen Curtains
Once you have studied the look on your current curtains, you will want to iron the creases out of the fabric. This is done when making new curtains or re-hemming old ones. If you are doing the later remove the stitches after ironing.
Then when you have adjusted the fabric, you need to pin the hems in place. This allows you to see how much fabric you need to cut off. Do the trimming but make sure to leave enough weight for the drape to look good.
Now you can sew the hem into place, removing the pins as you go. When you are done, iron and hang. That is all there is to it when hemming linen curtains.
How to Hem a Linen Tablecloth
Your hemming task will depend on the design of your tablecloth. Here is one method for smaller tables.
First, you need to cut your fabric to size including hem allowances.
Second, measure off a half-inch and fold the fabric all the way around the square.
Third, as you fold, finger press the material into place. This is not hard as linen is fairly stiff and easy to fold. After folding the hemline, unfold the corners. You will see a little square there and you need to cut that square out.
Fifth, you want to do a second hem at 2 inches folding the narrow hem inside this next layer. Make sure to press hard to get the fold just right. Sixth, unfold the corners and pin the little triangle shape.
Once that is done, make a line with a pencil perpendicular to the new fold line and stitch along that line. Next, cut the excess on the outside of that stitch line leaving yourself a 1/4 inch seam allowance.
Finally, sew the rest of the hem. You can sew with your machine or by hand. It is possible to add embroidery to make the table cloth look better.
How to Hem Linen Dress
If you have one, use a hem gauge to help you get the hemline nice and straight. This tool should help keep the hem impression away as well when you place it on the wrong side of the fabric.
Measure where you want the hem to go and then pin the hem in the proper place. Make sure to press the hem with your iron so that the crease is in a straight line and flat. You can serge the hem into place and use a zig-zag stitch if you want.
Or hand stitch the hem. Either way, the finished product should look good.
Frayed Hem Linen Dress
One way to get that frayed hem look is not to finish the raw edge of the dress. Linen frays very easily so leaving the raw edge loose will let the threads come out on their own. The only drawback to this method is that you cannot control the amount of fraying and you may lose a lot more material in future washes.
It would be a good idea to learn how to put a fray stop measure in the dress so you do not ruin your outfit over time. Use your fingers to take the number of threads out to get the look you want.
Curved Hem Linen Skirt
It is possible to do a curved hem on a linen skirt. The only question is are you willing to deal with the frustration that comes with working on a curve? Depending on the thickness of the fabric, you can fold the hem inside once or twice.
Then you can use either a running stitch or an invisible stitch with a presser foot. The main issue is the puckering that may occur. To avoid that you should hand stitch the curved hem.
Also, you need to pick the right needle and thread size to make this technique work.
How to Hem Linen Trousers
Hemming linen is not so difficult. The fabric responds better than its competitors and should not give you too much trouble. For linen trousers, the first thing you need to do is decide how high or how low the hem will lie.
Next, pin the hem in place and iron. If there is a lot of material left over, trim the excess down to the amount you want and then press again. After that sew the hem into the trousers pant leg.
Repeat for the other leg. This task should not take up a lot of time if you know exactly where you want the hem to be.
How to Hem a Linen Scarf
One of the good things about hemming a linen scarf is that you can leave the ends and give them a nice frayed look. If you do not want that frayed look getting bigger, use one of the stop fraying methods.
For the long sides, just fold the fabric over to the place you want them to be. It would not be a good idea to go less than 1/8 of an inch. 1/2 inch is a good width. Once you get that width pin in place and sew. You can press the fold first if you want.
Best Way to Hem Linen
It is possible to use your sewing machine on some linen items. The stitches add to the look and make scarfs, table cloths and napkins look a lot better. The key is always to press the hem crease. That helps keep the crease straight and easy to follow.
If you are sewing clothing and exposed stitches would detract from the overall look, then go to hand stitching and invisible thread. Keeping the stitches out of sight makes sure people’s eyes rest on your great handiwork and not on one little part of the pants or dress.
Rolled Hem Linen
A rolled hem looks best ion smaller items like handkerchiefs, napkins, and scarves. It is a simple technique that requires that you stitch in two different areas then pull the thread to roll the stitches.
To use this technique you have to have an even edge with no frays. Then you should have about 1/8 inch folded hemline to make sure the process works right. After that, you should do about 3 to 5 stitched before doing the pulling of the thread.
This technique takes a little time to get it done right.
Raw Hem Linen
For best results, you want to have a straight hem as the consistent grainline will allow the fabric to unravel evenly. Then use a straight stitch just above the hemline. This action will only allow the material to fray up to certain points.
The fabric has to be cut to size before you use this technique. Then when you start stitching, you should begin at the garment side seam and other hidden areas. Go all the way around and back stitch when you reached your starting point.
Bubble Hem Dress Linen
This method started back in the 1950s and helped create the bubble dress craze. The dress flared out at the hips then tapered back at the hem. Fold and pin the hem up 1 inch. Then use your sewing machine to sew the hem in place.
Leave a little whole so you can insert the elastic and feed it around the bottom of the dress. Once the elastic is around sew the ends together. Then put the skirt right side out and fold the elastic hem under and sew a new hem into place.
Some Final Words
Hemming linen is not that difficult and should go like other fabrics go. Dresses, pants, trousers, tablecloths, and scarves are all easy to hem as you only have straight lines to work with.
If you can hem other fabrics, you should be able to hem linen. It is a great fabric to work with and does not slide around on you.
