Maurice Malone

Photo shows what is a original hem alteration — Close-up of an original hem alteration

Avoid original hem alterations

Published on January 4, 2020

An Original Hem alteration. What is it? And, why you should stay away from this type of hemming alteration.

People often fall for this alteration because they like the washed or worn edge on the hem and believe it will be lost while shorting their jeans. Most choose the Original Hem alteration because a tailor or seamstress offers the option, or they learned of this novel alteration that touts keeping the tattered hem by cutting it away and reattaching it to the jeans.

Tattered washed hem edge removed from jeans in order to reattach it when performing an Original Hem alteration — The leg opening from an Original Hem alteration

ORIGINAL HEM ALTERATIONS – DON’T DO IT!

First of all, it’s cheesy, hacky, corny, wack… There are many ways to describe this bad idea. We get lots of jeans from those who tried this alteration with requests to have their jeans rehabilitated and hemmed with traditional chain stitching. A word of advice, don’t waste your time and money damaging your jeans or wearing this embarrassing look.

Close-up of light washed jeans with original hem alterations — Close-up of light-washed jeans with less flexible original hem alterations

Patience pays off. There is really no reason to hack up your jeans. If you wash and wear regularly, the wavy lines and abrasion highlights will return to jeans after traditional chain stitch hemming. If you want to speed up the process or have a lot of shredding, try roughing up the edges of the hems with sandpaper, an electric grinder, or cut them up with a sharp blade.

To fix bad hemming, the original hem has to be cut away or opening -up, depending on sewing construction. — This cleaner sewn version was sent in for removal. The customer said it was annoying to wear, like a ring around their ankle.

Tailors and seamstresses use multiple techniques to make original hems. The results in our opinion are all bad. In every approach, a seamline is added where there was none before, losing the flexibility of the original leg bottom. Layers of fabrics are sewn together and create a stiff, unsightly, (depending on how heavy the fabric or which method is used) uncomfortable line above the new hem. Other less stiff techniques leave the inside of the jeans looking so hideous, that you would never want to turn up the jeans to make a cuff. Also, if you don’t tack the hem down (which leaves additional visible stitch lines) the hem can flip up exposing the embarrassing-looking sewing construction.

Mangled insides exhibited on Gustin selvedge jeans that are badly tailored with an Original Hem alteration — Example of a bad tailoring technique with an original hem alteration on Gustin selvedge jeans.

3-needle chain stitched tapering of Carhartt work pants before and after photos

Denim/How To

Tapering Carhartt & other work pants

Published on October 24, 2019

You love work pants but wish they came with a modern fit for casual wear. Here we explain the step-by-step process that went into tapering a pair of triple-needle flat-felled chain-stitched inseam Carhartt carpenter pants from a 20-inch wide leg, down to a 15-inch opening.

It’s a job that not many tailors or alterations services do because of the skill and equipment needed. As a denim factory with all the heavy-duty machinery required to deal with triple-needle stitching at both the out-seam and inseam of work pants, one can argue our added enhancements look better than the original manufacturing.

The tapering process

Step – 1: Inseam length

In the above before & after photo, you can note the lines drawn above the hem of the pants. It marks the requested inseam length. 1-inch is added to account for the two 1/2-inch folds of the hem.

The hem of pants are cut 1-inch longer than the request inseam length

From the start, we cut the inseam to match the customer’s requested inseam length. However, the inseam always grows during the sewing process when we put the inseam back together. The fabric stretches while being pulled through the flat-felled sewing machine. Pressing at the end of sewing also causes the fabric fibers to flatten and grow. We leave the length as-is, which is usually longer, anticipating the pants to relax back into place after wash and wear.

Step – 2: Undo the inseam

The requested inseam for this pant was 28-inches. After cutting the pants down to the new length, plus 1-inch, we pull the chain stitching apart at the inseam. This is a fairly quick process. For factories, the chain stitch is the strongest, and most effortless to pull apart in cases when re-sewing is needed.

The 3-needle inseam stitching of carpenter pants is taken apart

Step – 3: Re-Draft leg shape

The pants are opened and placed on the table to re-draft the leg shape. The leg of this Carhartt carpenter initially measured 20-inches in total circumference. The customer requested to bring it down to 15-inches.

Carhartt work pants are opened to re-draft the leg shape for tapering.

Below, note the leg opening measurement is 16 1/8 inches. 1 1/8-inches is added for seam allowance. In the photo above, markings for the knee can be seen. It highlights the area where we make the turn towards the crotch.

Close-up of leg opening measuring shows how to taper the leg of the pants.

Step – 4: Sewing

Finally, using the three-needle flat-felled sewing machine, the inseam is closed, and the hem is chain-stitched with a Union Special sewing machine. Last, the garment is pressed and packed for shipping back to the customer.

Under our alterations services menu, we offer triple-needle tapering, Double-needle, and single-needle tapering services. We charge slightly more for triple-needle work because of the machine set-up and change-over.

Bad DIY lockstitch hemming done by home sewing machine — Example of poor quality DIY lockstitch hemming done by home sewing machine.

101/Denim

Fixing Tailor’s & DIY Hemming Mistakes

Published on September 13, 2019

We fix a lot of professional tailor shops and DIY home sewing machine hemming jobs. People learn the hard way that home sewing machines aren’t up to standard when working with denim and then send jeans to us for re-hemming. The thick seamlines are just too much for most domestic machines, so we often find thin broken needles stuck inside of hems.

Others discover that the difference between the quality of denim alterations from a suit tailor or local cleaners, and us is like night and day. That’s because the heavyweight fabric requires specialized machines and the workmanship required for denim is worlds apart from suits, fine trousers, dresses, and style of garments commonly worked on at most tailoring shops.

Lockstitch sewing on selvedge denim jeans hem — Lockstitch hemming is often what you get at Cleaners or Professional Tailoring shops.

Hems are commonly sewn with chain stitching at jeans factories. Most professional tailors will try to hem jeans on single-needle lockstitch machines, but they often can’t handle the thick fabric or seams. Again, home sewing machines aren’t nearly capable.

Chainstitch vs lockstitch hemming — Example of chainstitch vs lockstitch hemming compared. Chain stitching at the top of the photo, lockstitching at the bottom.

When it comes to stitching sizes, professional tailors will use threads that are a little heavier than the small thread sizes which must be used in domestic machines. But still, they usually don’t stock the thicker thread sizes commonly used with denim. The difference is plain to see when it comes to jeans- have them professionally altered by a denim specialist.

Guide showing the key hemming and tapering points in jeans

Denim/How To

A detailed guide for hemming jeans and tapering them to perfection

Published on February 9, 2019

How to taper and hem a size 30x36 jean to size 30x28

When smaller and mid-sized denim brands manufacture jeans, they try to cover a wide range of customers by producing jeans as long as 34 to 36 inches. For those who have to shorten jeans or pants offered by most better producers, we would like to share this example of how to hem a pair of jeans and achieve the original optimal fit through the leg shape.

Graphic shows hemming jeans size 30x34 to 30x28 with added tapering

A – The leg opening is also known as the hem. The inseam of this jean originally measured 34-inches long.
B – Hemming is shortening the inseam length. These jeans have been hemmed to measure 28-inches in length. The leg opening appears slightly smaller at this point in the photo, however, with added tapering, the hem has been trimmed to the original size. It is only because the width of a tapered pant gets larger the higher up you go. The raised leg opening looks smaller at this point as compared with the original width.
C – This is the original knee position of the uncut 34-inseam leg (12 ½ ” below the crotch). The knee is where the leg circumference begins enlargement into the thigh. Without raising the knee position on shortened jeans, the area around the knee will be bigger than it was originally designed.
D – By tapering, we trimmed the denim slightly to match the original measurements at the lower leg and raised the knee placement so the leg keeps its original contoured shape. The new knee is located 10 ½ ” below the crotch. Without raising the knee, you can see how much extra fabric would remain if hemming alone.

Unless you are up for laying out good money for a pair of custom-made jeans, it is likely a brand that offers multiple inseam options will simply make its standard size and cut the length down before shipping, without consideration of moving the knee position. Like most brands, if you order hemming without additional tapering, we would do the same.

Let’s say a brand offers pants or jeans sizes 30×28, 30×29, 30×30, and 30×31. That’s four different inseams within a single waist size. To have the proper knee location on each and every size would require four different sets of patterns. One pattern per waist size, per each inseam length. It is unlikely a brand would do so unless they are a mass producer. Now that you have an understanding of why it is so difficult to find pants off-the-shelf in a multitude of inseam sizes and the behind-the-curtain factors associated with those who may, let’s get to the workaround.

Our suggestion is merely hemming jeans and adding tapering. For this is a simple alteration where we take apart the legs, make the adjustments, then put them back together. If constructed with a lap or flat-felled seam with double stitch lines, we only need to take apart the inseam. If the jeans are constructed with a serger and single-needle stitch line at the inseam, we start by removing the inseam’s topstitching. Next, we draft the new shape at the inseam and sew it back together following the original thread colors. The outseam is never touched.

Constructions details that help explain how to hem jeans

Before explaining how to hem jeans with added tapering, we will first explain the two types of construction found in most jeans. Inseam design is especially important when it comes to tapering but it does not matter for hemming.

E – Denim and work clothing most often are produced with a flat-felled seam. It has a double-needle chain stitch (sometimes 3-needles in work pants) at the inseam for strength and durability. It would be surprising if your local cleaners, tailor, or even most denim specialists have the machine required to sew this seam. It is mainly found in factories and small-batch jeans makers. Without the need to open the outseam, it sews the topstitching and closes the seam in a single pass.
F – Pictured in both images are selvedge (selvage) outseams. The vast amount of jeans sold will not be produced in selvedge denim. Top-end denim brands will offer selvedge in their line-ups. Some only offer selvedge. Selvedge does not factor in the quality of the fabric. When jeans are not produced in selvedge denim, the outseams can also be constructed with an overlocked edge and pressed open. Low-end denim producers routinely close the outseams with a closed overlock for speed.
G – The hem or leg opening on jeans is commonly sewn with chain stitching in better denim. Low-end makers will frequently use a standard lock-stitch. Home sewers and fine tailors often run into difficulty working with the hem using sewing machines not suitable for sewing through multiple layers of denim fabric.
H – Makers of very heavy jeans will construct them with a single-needle topstitched inseam to avoid the difficulties of folding and sewing through multiple layers of thick denim. On women’s and skinny jeans, single-needle topstitch construction is also most often used for comfort and flexibility. Lower-priced jeans also prefer the serger seam for ease and speed.

The heavy lifting in the leg shape of jeans is at the inseam. Selvedge and a good deal of non-selvedge jeans have a straight outseam from the hem-to-hip curve. Unless the jeans have a flared or bootcut, tapering should be done at the inseam. Tapering selvedge from the outseam would be unforgivable.

Even though outseam tapering alterations and regular lockstitch stitched hems are simply amateur, there are commercially produced YouTube videos where one of the world’s biggest and most popular denim brands gets it wrong. Perhaps because it’s faster, more convenient or they don’t have the right equipment and skilled operators in their stores for factory quality alterations. Good advice before letting anyone begin work on your jeans – ask how they intend to do it.

For more information on hemming and tapering, check out our many other articles and alteration services.

How much raw denim jeans grow or shrink after washing and wearing explained with measurement changes displayed over the jeans waistband, rise, hips and thighs.

101/Denim

A look at raw denim jeans after wash & wear

Published on October 2, 2018

We analyze our Slim Standard Grand Street jeans after washing and wearing them to explore how the fit of raw denim jeans can vary over time. The style before the wash feels starchy and crisp. It was produced in a mid-weight, 11.5-ounce, American-made Cone Denim White Oak non-selvedge denim.

Williamsburg Garment Company's new raw denim jeans compared to broken-in worn jeans

We do a lot of denim alterations, not just on our jeans but also on those from numerous other brands. The bottom line is that we get to see a lot of denim, which is a plus. They arrive with us new, slightly used, well-broken-in, or terribly damaged and devastated.

In the case of Williamsburg jeans, this enables us to contrast various levels of our used denim with those of the same style that are brand-new, off-the-rack. These jeans were brought in for button repair work. It was a fantastic pair to study because they hadn’t had any hemming or other adjustments done that would have made them out of the original specifications.

The measurements between the new and the older pairs of jeans are shown here. Because of the yarn colors, fabric texture, softness, and lack of oil in the fabric, we know this pair has been washed at some point throughout its history, even if we didn’t inquire. The signs of stretching are prevalent in locations that experience typical stress, so we know the jeans were worn after being washed.

Measurements differences between new and worn raw denim jeans — The measurements indicate the changes between brand-new and worn raw denim jeans.

You should be aware that when it comes to raw denim, each fabric that makes up the product may have varying rates of shrinkage or growth. This is true whether you own a pair of raw jeans from another manufacturer or even a different model of Williamsburg jeans. When soaked in water, some denim actually expands in one direction rather than contracting. Others may have little or significant stretching.

Finally, size is important. In the same fabric, a 1/4 inch increase on size 30 jeans could translate to a 3/8 to 1/2 inch increase on size 40 jeans. This is due to the fact that larger size changes are being felt over greater distances.

For more information, or to review spec changes in other styles, check out past articles.

Hem of American-made raw denim selvedge jeans with orange chain stitch hemming shows what is aw denim, selvedge on jeans and chain stitching.

Denim/What is?

What’s the difference between raw denim and selvedge denim?

Published on June 20, 2018

Here is everything you need to know without going into great detail about raw denim’s history or production. Raw denim fabric must first be understood in order to understand what raw jeans are.

Raw denim is simply denim fabric that has not been washed, dyed, soaked, or otherwise exposed to water.

Raw denim is simply denim that has not been washed, colored, soaked, or otherwise exposed to water after the weaving process. What makes denim “raw” has nothing to do with its color, weight, maker, dye, or the fact that it is selvedge or not.

Raw denim is also called dry or hard denim, but it shouldn’t be confused with selvedge denim, which it often is. In the image below, you can see examples of the two different types of raw denim fabric used to make denim clothing. The most common type of denim among denim enthusiasts is selvedge, which refers to the weaving process of the fabric. It has clean-self finished edges or “self-edge” which are used in finished garments by cutting selected pattern parts to the edge of the fabric. Wide goods or non-selvedge denim (pictured in the foreground) is woven with frayed edges which are discarded after cutting.

A close-up of selvedge and ordinary raw denim fabric to highlight the difference. — A close-up of selvedge (redline edge) and ordinary raw denim fabric to highlight the difference.

Is selvedge better quality denim?

Don’t be fooled by the name selvedge into believing it’s better denim. Quality standards, like other items, will vary depending on the provider. Both selvedge and non-selvedge denims are manufactured in varying grades. Frequently, mass producers of low-cost jeans use suppliers who are not known for producing high-quality denim. Do your homework since some mass-market brands will leverage the cache of mills recognized for creating premium denim to make cheap denim that looks the part.

Why is selvedge denim more expensive?

For fabric mills, weaving selvedge denim is more expensive. For brands, the cost of manufacturing garments produced with selvedge denim is higher. As a result, selvedge denim products typically sell at higher costs within a brand’s style assortment.

Rolls of selvedge denim and non-selvedge regular raw denim are side by side to compare raw denim vs selvedge.

Within a brand’s style range, selvedge denim jeans are more likely to be more expensive than non-selvedge models: To begin, unlike non-selvedge denim, which can range from 57″ to 64″ wide, selvedge denim is narrower, ranging from 28″ to 34″ in width. This means that a pair of selvedge jeans may require roughly double the amount of fabric as a regular pair of jeans. The pricing of the fabric is the second factor to consider. Selvedge costs a few dollars extra per yard (depending on the supplier) because it is typically woven on older, slower looms that create fabric with a high rate of flaws, whereas modern looms make wider (non-selvedge) denim with fewer faults at faster speeds.

The images below show “Markers” for jeans. Markers are patterns for each size range that are printed on paper and used by the cutter to trace the cut on the fabric. The pattern pieces on the Markers are arranged to minimize fabric waste. Selvedge Markers are shown in the top image, and non-selvedge Markers are shown in the bottom image. This example shows two pairs of jeans cut on the narrower selvedge denim would require nearly 6 yards of fabric, while two of the same sizes cut on the wider non-selvedge would use about 2 1/2 yards of fabric.