Hem With a Vent (or Slit)…Technique #2

The last post was on how to hem a pair of pants with a vent or slit in the side.

This post will give you instructions on how to do a vent another way.

This technique can be used with skirts that have vents on the side or center back seam.

Here’s what this pair looks like:

This pair had topstitching all along the edge of the vent.

Take a look at the inside of the pants where the hem is.

I took the topstitching out and spread the vents open so you could see:

After you’ve taken apart the vents, measure the width of the hem.

In this case, it’s 1 1/2″ wide.

Now, measure the vent opening. In this case it is 2 3/4″.

For this customer, I needed to raise the hem by 5″.

Raise your hem according to the measurement you need to raise it by.

Press a new hemline all the way around your pants.

You may need to take out some side seam stitches because your new vent will be open for 2 3/4″  above the hem edge.

So, on these pants, I need to first take out the serged seam allowance (see the scissors below. I like to use small pointed scissors for this task.)

Remember, my hem width was 1 1/2″? So, I will cut off the pants 1 1/2″ below the pressed hemline.

Serge the cut edge if you have a serger. If not, finish it with a zig zag or other finish.

Serge the opening of the vents so that the edge doesn’t ravel.

Now you can see in the photo below that I have the vent area all serged and the new hemline pressed and ready to go.

Do you see, also , that I have the side seam stopping at about the same place as the vent opens up?

Turn up the hem along the foldline:

Remember, if your hem doesn’t lay flat because your pants are tapered or flared, you must read How To Hem Pants Without Puckers!

Once you have the hem edge turned up, measure the openings to the vents and make sure they are even. Lay one vent on top of the other and line them up. Make any necessary adjustments to insure that those edges are even.

Now, you can put the hem in using a blindstitch hem foot like this:

If you are unsure of how to do the hem that way, here’s a post on How To Hem Using a Blind Stitch Hem Foot.

Or, you could put the hem in by hand.

Once you have the hem in, turn the vertical edge of the vent in (1/4″ ) once like this:

Now, turn the vent edge in one more time and pin all the edges.

Topstitch just under 1/4″ all the way around the vent openings, making sure that you catch all the edges as you sew.

I like to topstitch from the right side of the garment like this:

And there you have it…another way to put a vent in your pair of pants!