How to Hem Pants By Hand

About the only sewing I do these days is mending, but I actually do know how to sew. I made several of my maternity clothes with my first child and many a Halloween costume when they were little. However, it is more expensive to sew your own clothing these days most of the time. The price of patterns and material is outrageous. I have a pair of dress pants that I recently bought that the hem came out of. It seems that nothing is made very well any more. I needed to repair the hem and thought I’d do a little tutorial.

Hemming slacks is something that I do by hand rather than on the sewing machine. Hems on a sewing machine will be very visible as the stitching will show up as a continuous line. Typically the hem of dress pants are not very visible. Thus, the need to sew by hand.

Because this is a mending job, you can clearly see by the creases where the hem should be turned up to. If you are hemming a brand new garment or the crease is not obvious be sure to measure for the proper length by trying them on, turn up, and tack with a pin.

Visible Crease of Hem
Visible Crease of Hem

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Easy Double Crochet Adult Beanie

Since my first crochet scarf, there has been a lull in my crocheting. Summer and fall are so full and busy with gardening, harvesting, canning, and so forth that I just didn’t get back to it. As the weather turned cold and I began to hibernate I started pondering my next crochet project. I decided to go with a double crochet beanie that I found on ravelry to match my new scarf.

My First Crochet Beanie
My First Crochet Beanie

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My First Crochet Stitch

I have been telling myself that I was going to start crocheting for some time now.  Like many other things, it just kept getting put off. A few months back I was on listia and saw a “Beginner Knit & Crochet First Projects” booklet including a crochet needle for only a few listia points. So, I bid and won the auction.

When it arrived it came with a 4/E needle, a tiny bit of pink yarn, and the booklet. I quickly flipped through the booklet and found it had a couple of project patterns and even a few pictures of how to stitching. But the problem was there was no helpful hints on starting! I knew nothing so I needed the very first step demonstrated. So, I was a bit disappointed and put it away for awhile.

Then I just recently started on pinterest and found the best pin ever!

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