Shorten Pants With Tapered Legs?

How do I make a smooth seam when altering tapered legs? Sewing tips as submitted from the ThriftyFun community.

Make A "V"

You might think about making a "V" shaped vent at the seam on the outside of the leg, I hope you understand what I mean. I dont know any other way to explain it. There will be a little gap shaped like an inverted "V" in the area of the outside seam. Good luck!

By Carol

Release The Seam

I would release some of the seam on the hem part so that it can open up and fit the wider part of the hem.

By Eileen

Press Before Hemming

After turning up the hem the desired amount; undo the stitching on the turned up seam. Secure the stitches so they won't undo further. Press; hem. I've always had this problem since I'm short in stature and pant legs tend to widen from the bottom. Hope I've made these instructions clear.

By Mairmie

Step By Step Instructions

Turn the pants legs inside out. At the point which is approx 1.5 inches above where you want the hem to be located, start sewing a tapered seam to the bottom of the area to be hemmed. Do this on both sides of the pant. Make sure that it is an approx. 1/4 inch deep additional seam on both sides of each hem, giving you a total of 1/2 inch narrower where you want to hem it. Maybe more, maybe less, depends on the width of the pant leg.

By Holly

Feel free to post your ideas below.