How to Hem Your Karate Pants – A Step by Step Guide image 11

A Step-by-Step Guide to Hemming Your Karate Pants

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Whether you’ve grown taller or your karate pants have loosened over time, learning how to properly hem them yourself is an important skill. In this article, I will cover all the basics of shortening karate pants with precise step-by-step instructions along with helpful tips from my own martial arts experience.

Why Hemming Karate Pants Matters

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As karateka, having the correct pant length is important for both form and function. Too long and your movement will be restricted as the excess fabric gets in the way. Too short and you risk tripping during kata or sparring. The hem should hit just at the ankle bone for maximum flexibility and safety.

Rather than buying new pants each time your length changes, hemming allows you to customize the fit and save money. It also means your perfectly worn-in pants will last even longer. The skills needed are quite simple, so with basic supplies you can always keep your uniform pant length optimal.

Preparation

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To get started, gather the following materials:

  1. Karate pants needing to be shortened
  2. Fabric chalk or tailor’s pencil for marking the hem line
  3. Scissors for cutting the excess fabric
  4. Iron and ironing board
  5. Sewing machine or needle and thread (preferably of the same color as your pants)

It also helps to have a friend on hand to check the back while marking measurements. Now you’re ready for the actual hemming process.

Marking the Hem Line

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Lay the pants flat and smooth any wrinkles. Try them on to determine the desired length, ideally hitting just below the ankle bone. From my experience, it’s best to err on the shorter side at first in case any fabric shifts up slightly during sewing.

With the pants still on, have a helper mark the spot where the hem should end all the way around using tailor’s chalk or pencil. Be sure to mark both the front and back equally. Then carefully take the pants off and lay them back out to double check the markings.

Cutting the Excess Fabric

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Use sharp fabric scissors to cut off any fabric extending past the marked line. Cut as straight as possible all the way around the pants leg. For a clean finish, remove about 1/4 inch extra to allow for turning the raw edge under later.

Take your time and cut with care, as it’s easier to redo a too-short hem than to fix a botched cut. Once cut, lay the pants flat again to inspect your work before moving to the next step.

Preparing the Raw Edge

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The inside raw edge left from cutting needs to be finished to prevent fraying. You have two main options here:

  1. Serge/overlock the edge with a serger sewing machine.
  2. Turn under 1/4 inch of the edge and sew it in place by hand or machine, securing the fold with tiny stitches.

I prefer using my serger since it’s faster. But hand-folding works too and leaves a cleaner look if done neatly. Just be sure to secure that inside raw edge before moving on to the visible hem stitches.

Sewing the Inside Hem

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Place the pants wrong-side-out and fold the hem allowance up all the way around so the inside raw edge is hidden inside the fold. Then pin or baste the fold in place temporarily using long stitches.

Set your sewing machine to a short, tight straight stitch and sew as close to the inner folded edge as possible. For a truly professional finish, catch just the inner fold only and not the outer layers of fabric.

Take care along curves or tight areas and slowly pivot your fabric, backstitching at each end. Once complete, remove pins or baste stitches and inspect your work inside and out before finishing the outside.

Sewing the Outside Hem

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Turn the pants right-side-out once more so the folded hem edge is now facing out on the bottom. Press it flat if needed. Then pin or baste the outer folded edge in place.

Again sew as close to the inner folded edge as possible using that tight straight stitch. The goal is for the stitches to barely show on the outside. When fixing martial arts uniforms, an invisible hem is ideal so as not to detract from crisp lines.

Gently pull or ease the fabrics as needed so they lay flat without puckering. With practice, your hemming skills will improve to leave no visible stitches at all on the outside.

Final Inspection and Wear

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Pull out all pins, turn the pants inside out one final time, and check that the raw inside edge is fully enclosed and sewn down securely with no stray threads. Then turn right-side-out and do a test wear to ensure perfect leg length and motion.

With this process mastered, you now have the ability to always keep your karate pants fitting just right as your body or training evolves over the years. An important life skill that can translate beyond the dojo as well. Enjoy your freshly hemmed pants at practice!

I hope these step-by-step instructions along with tips from my martial arts history have effectively covered all the basics of how to hem your very own karate pants. Please let me know if you have any other questions!

Steps for Hemming Karate Pants

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Step Details
1. Take off pants and lay them flat.
2. Measure inseam length from crotch to desired length.
3. Mark inseam with chalk or thread at measured length.
4. Fold excess fabric past mark and pin in place.
5. Stitch folded hem ensuring straight, even stitching.
6. Try on pants and adjust hem if needed before finalizing.

FAQ

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  1. What type of pants can I hem? You can hem most types of loose fitting pants like karate pants, yoga pants, or sweatpants. Tighter pants may be harder to alter well without loose threads showing.
  2. How short should I make the hem? You’ll want the length to hit right at your ankle or a little above. Any higher and the pants could ride up funny. Go longer if you plan to roll them up once for a crop length. Otherwise, too short looks sloppy.
  3. What tools will I need? Basically, you’ll need fabric scissors, a needle, matching thread and maybe a seam ripper if the pants have a finish hem you need to take out. A ruler or fabric marking pencil can help too for getting a straight line.
  4. How do I start hemming the pants? First, try the pants on and mark the length with pins or chalk along the leg. Then carefully cut off the excess fabric below the pins with your scissors. Kinda be careful not to cut too short!
  5. What stitches should I use? For a hem on pants, a straight stitch is usually best. It’s strong and not too visible from the outside. You could also use a blind hem stitch if you want it to be hardly noticeable inside the leg.
  6. Will it be noticeable? As long as you match the thread color well and make neat, tight stitches, your hand-hemmed pants shouldn’t look obviously altered. Although, on some fabrics it may be slightly visible compared to a professional machine hem. Otherwise, I bet no one will really examine your hems that closely!
  7. What if I mess up the hem? Don’t worry, it’s not the end of the world. You can always carefully rip out the stitches with a seam ripper and start over. Or patch up any small mistakes from the outside with a few extra securing stitches. Practice makes it better! Remember, hemming is a basic DIY skill worth learning.
  8. Will this save me money in the long run? While hemming one pair of pants yourself doesn’t save a huge amount, learning to do simple alterations means you’ll be able to keep clothes in active use longer rather than throwing them out prematurely. Over many years, the money saved on tailoring and clothes replacement can add up. So taking the time to hem your karate pants is sort of an investment, I suppose!

At the same time, ready-made pants are convenient because the factory hem is often very neat. However, choosing clothes that don’t need too many alterations helps save money both ways. Nevertheless, developing basic sewing skills is good for self-sufficiency too. Who knows, you may become quite skilled at DIY hemming and start altering clothes for friends and family as a side business. On the other hand, taking up tailoring full time could be its own amazing career path!