During the summer season, your dress pants get a lot of use. From summer weddings to work parties to fancy dinners while vacationing, you probably wore your dress pants a lot these past few months. Chances are pretty good that your tailored pants were snagged at some point. Here is your guide for pants repair (tailored pants).
What type of repair needs to be done?
When it comes to pants repair (tailored pants), there are many things you can do at home to repair your tailored pants. But before you begin, you first need to identify what type of issue you are dealing with. Below is a list of common issues you may encounter with your pants.
- The hem snag: A hem can easily come undone or get snagged, especially if you did a loose hem or simply just tacked it.
- The rip: A rip is slice in the fabric and admittedly much easier to fix than a hole. The most common rips occur along the seams, especially along the seat of your pants. To fix a rip along a seam, the seam is usually just resewn. Rips can also occur when the fabric of your pants comes in contact with a sharp object (e.g., leaning against a sharp corner of a metal shelf at work).
- A hole: A hole is different than a rip in that the fabric cannot easily be pulled back together. A hole may require a patch or the use of additional fabric. Holes can occur when the fabric is worn down through excessive wear (in the inner thigh area) or through falling (on the knee area).
- The snag: A snag refers to a single piece of thread that has been pulled out of place.
- The belt loop rip: Belt loops can rip when an individual pulls his/her pants up by the belt loops. This is usually easily fixed by attaching the end of the belt loop back into place and sewing it again.
- The loose button: Buttons can become “wiggly” overcome. If you catch it in time, you can strengthen the button before the button completely falls off and is lost.
Tools you will need
If you are attempting to fix your pants, you’ll first need to gather the necessary tools:
- Tailor’s scissors: Tailor’s scissors tend to be sharper than your average kitchen/ paper scissors. This makes cutting fabric much easier.
- Needle
- Pins
- Matching thread: Not all thread is created equally! Choose a high-quality thread.
- Tailor’s chalk
- Ruler
- Ironing board and iron
- Sewing machine with a zigzag stitch
What to do
Once you’ve assessed the damaged and prepared your sewing tools, you can start working.
For a hem repair
Use the ruler to measure the good hem. Once you have your measurement, use the chalk to draw on the leg that needs to be repaired. Use the zig zag setting if you’re using your sewing machine. If sewing your hem by hand, remember to keep an extra 1/2″ of fabric so that you have plenty of room to create a crisp edge.
For hole repair
Holes are much easier to repair if they are not jagged. Here’s how to prepare the hole:
- Use your scissors and cut a square area around the hole.
- Make a small notch in each corner of the square hole. Fold about 1/4″ of the material toward the inside. (This creates a little flap for the replacement material to attach to.)
- Then iron your pants, so the edges of the hole are crisp.
- Use a patch that is 1/2″ bigger than your hole and line up the patch so that the grain of the fabrics match. Use a slip baste stitch around the patch.
- To secure the back of the patch, use a catch stitch.
Note:Â If you do not have a matching fabric or do not know how to perform these stitches, you may want to consider utilizing the services of a tailor.
For seam repair
If fixing a seam by hand, you’ll want to use a backstitch. This is a very strong stitch (and seams need the strongest stitches!) because each stitch overlaps the previous stitch by about 1/8 of an inch.
Prevent future damage with these care tips
In addition to fixing any problem as they arise, you can prevent future damage to your tailored pants by following these care tips:
- Hang your pants with a proper hanger meant for dress pants: This will prevent tears and snags caused by stuffing pants into a drawer
- Never adjust your pants by the belt loops: If your pants constantly sag, it’s time to get them tailored so that they fit nicely and do sag
- Keep extra buttons: Stash a few extra buttons in your sewing kit at home. That way, if you lose a button, you’ll have one on hand to do a quick repair
- Repair snags as soon as possible: The smaller the snag, the easier it is to fix. If you let a small snag go unfixed, it could potentially create a larger hole
- Make sure your pants fit correctly: Wearing pants that are too tight put you at risk for ripping the seat of your pants when you bend or lean down
Need more help?
For more great tips on taking care of your tailored pants, or to learn more about other tailoring services, please contact Embassy Cleaners in New York today, and discover how our experienced tailors can mend and preserve your articles of clothing.
