In which I need to hire a tailor. Or grow a few more inches.
Posted by Isabel on February 10th, 2009. Filed under: Addictions, We're having another baby.First off, thank you to everyone for your congratulations on the baby growing in my belly. It really makes things nice to have the love and support of friends and family.
When I was pregnant with My Sweet Babboo I wore high heels to work every.single.day. (Well, the very last day of work I did wear flip flops. But, darn it, I deserved it.) I pretty much stuck to one specific pair of Aerosoles heels that weren’t that high, but were high enough so my pants didn’t drag on the floor. I didn’t realize it at the time but my swollen feet played a number on those shoes and they were retired as soon as I gave birth and realized my feet no longer fit into the heap of stretched leather the shoes had become.
After becoming a mother and returning to the work force, I continued to wear heels daily. It isn’t just that I love heels. While I do love wearing them, I also HAVE to wear them.
The reason for this is three fold:
- I am short.
- Pants are always super long.
- I’m not sure how to go about retaining a tailor to hem my pants.
And so I wear heels. At this point in my life I own one pair of pants that are short enough to wear with regular non-heeled shoes. Unfortunately these pants are jeans, which means I must wear heels to work every single day.
Again, this really isn’t that big of a deal as I love my heels. I have never felt the need to complain about my heel usage…..until I became knocked up again.
And now, at a mere 13 weeks of pregnancy, my feet are begging, “quit with the damn heels, lady!” But I haven’t been able to quit them. First off, my only work shoes are heeled. And secondly, I don’t have work pants that are short enough to wear with flats, even if I did own a pair of flats.
Yesterday I had had enough of my feet yelling at me. Plus, I’d been receiving a million e-mails a day from Aerosoles telling me about all the deals they were offering on their website. I checked out their website, and while they were offering some sweet deals on shoes (seriously, check out their current sale items). Unfortunately I only saw heels on sale. No cute flats for a price I was willing to pay. I gave up and was resigned to checking out Ross on my way home.
So then I checked out Ann Taylor Loft online and found some super dreamy maternity work capri’s for something like $4.88. I bought two pairs. (Yes, I can wear capri’s to work. And they are short enough that I don’t HAVE to wear them with heels.) I also bought (another) pair of regular length maternity slacks for the same price. Which, if history proves right, will have to be work with heels. At that price I can’t not buy them, right?
On my way home, I just happened to walk into Ross and then I just happened to find the perfect pair of black flats. Aerosoles brand, no less. (I have insane brand loyalty towards the Aerosoles brand.) They were marked down from $65 (retail) to $15. Besides the huge bow, that I don’t really love, they are the perfect flat. This means they aren’t totally flat and they have arch support. To quote Michael Scott, “I love them long time.”
(While my socks look suspiciously blue, they are black.)
So here is where my issues lie lye laid lay:
Do I find a tailor and pay $12 to get the pants I bought for $4.88 hemmed? (I must mention I’ve purchased three other pairs of quality maternity slacks for the same price.) I brought this conundrum up last night with my equally short friend Ann last night. To which she replied, “do you own your own sewing machine?” To which I replied, “heck yes, I own my own machine.”
“Well then, why don’t you just hem your own pants?”
“Ann, do you seriously think I know how to do something like hem my own pants? You pay to get your pants hemmed, right? Could you figure out how to hem your own pants with your sewing machine?”
“The only thing I know how to do with my sewing machine is peg my pants. And I’m pretty sure neither of us need that service done on our pants.”
Truer words have never been spoken.
So tell me, do I try to teach myself how to hem my new pants so that I can wear them, in comfort, with my new flats? Or do I find a tailor, pay the $12, and have somebody else to hem my $4.88 pants?
And if I were to teach myself how to hem, where would I go to learn this? Is this something I can just google?
February 10th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Hmmm, is it cheating to answer “it depends”? If the pants are black, I say go for it (because it would be hard to see any mistakes anyway), but if they are lighter colors or patterned, I would pay for the tailoring. And not feel a bit bad about it because, even with the cost of tailoring, you still got an awesome deal on pants!
And, yes, Google totally works… googling “how to hem pants with sewing machine” even brings up a video tutorial. I love Google.
February 10th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
from time to time I use this stuff, ithink its called invisible hem, to hem my pants. i wear a lot of heels and flats and this stuff is great cause its not permanent. its an iron on hem. just fold up the bottome to the lenght yhou want it hemmed, put the stuff under the fold and iron on. it holds up in the washing machine for a while and then when it comes undone, either do it again or leave it longer for when you want to wear higher heels. just an idea.
February 10th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
I tailor Shane’s pants, but I am usually making them longer. Girl, you have skillz with a sewing machine, just try it. They only cost $5, and you won’t wear them forever, right? Just fold them up to the right length, pin them, then sew them.
Try it on a pair of old pants that you don’t care about first to practice. You can totally do it.
February 10th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
First of all, are you really short? In every picture I’ve seen of you, you look so tall and slender…
Second of all, I go to a tailor every once in a while, usually to patch holes my husband has torn in random places in his suits. Each of these patches costs $5, and I think they probably take more time/energy than a simple hem, so I can’t imagine your pants would cost $12 to hem. Is that a number you were quoted? Or just a number you’re guessing? I am having an old black wool coat tailored right now (it’s big and boxy—soon to fit like a glove) and with all the alterations she’s making, it’s still costing only $30. If your tailor is charging $12 for a hem, try going somewhere else. Or use that video tutorial that FunnyGal KAT suggested…
February 10th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
Oh, my goodness, I can teach you!!!!! Really, and seriously, I can. Almost every pair of pants (slacks, not jeans–I DO go to a tailor for that) that I own has been hemmed by moi. I’m short, too, but petite pants are too short, and of course, regular pants are too long.
My technique is not fancy, and it may not be what most seamstresses would approve of, but it works for me.
I’ll send you details. So (Sew!) easy!
February 10th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
I’m with you, heels required. If I buy petite pants (I’m 5′2″), the pants end up a smidge too short.
I hem my khakis all the time. Not afraid at all. Jeans, I will do on occasion, but I had a pair of wide leg jeans I took to the tailor.
For anything not khaki, I like going to a tailor. For some reason, I like the way the tailor finishes the edges and I think they do something to make sure the pant leg falls correctly. I suppose you could handle the edges issue with seam tape, but I have no idea what corrections are made to the pant leg.
As for the tailor, I cheat by going to Nordstrom which charges way more than $12 when you bring in non-Nordstrom pants. Purchasing the pants on sale helps justify the Nordstrom charge. ($4.88? Wow, I’ve never found that good of a deal).
I have been researching more cost effective tailors and received a reference for a tailor over by university village. I also have a reference for a tailor in downtown Seattle on 4th kitty corner from Westlake. One of those might work for you!
February 10th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Wikihow, it’s all about the wikihow. You can TOTALLY learn to hem your own pants. If you can hem curtains, you can hem pants. Seriously, keep the $12 bucks.
http://www.wikihow.com/Shorten-Pants-Without–Hand-Sewing
xox
February 10th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
I hem my own pants, but I do it by hand, because it looks better (by which I mean you can’t see it). Its’ super easy.
February 10th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
I machine hem my own pants all the time (even jeans!). I started with this little cheaty tutorial for hemming jeans and keeping the original hem: http://www.daciaray.com/?p=38 It totally works and is incredibly easy. I always used to say no to pants that were too long because I didn’t want to pay for the tailoring, but now that I can do my own original hem, if the pant fits, I buy. Hope this helps.
February 10th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
I wish I could help you..however, I actually have the opposite problem. I can only wear “LONG” which most people says is a good thing, but the problem is you can never buy pants in stores, b/c most don’t carry in the store, you have to order online. And I despise paying shipping. In fact, when I order long, sometimes they are nearly too long. But anyway, this isnt about me..
Back to your issue, I think you should try the invisible hem that madmom suggests…
February 10th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Have you asked M. Web about the tailor she uses? She loves him. But he might charge more than $5….
February 10th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
You can totally do it! I hem tons of my own pants and they usually turn out just dandy fine. Plus, if you order online (Gap & Old Navy specifically) you can get pants that would be the right length.
Plus…congrats on the baby you’re growing!!
February 10th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
I say learn how to hem your own pants and save the $12! It can’t be all that hard.
February 11th, 2009 at 1:12 am
Wow!! Congratulations on the new baby! I’m very excited for you. Are you feeling okay?
February 11th, 2009 at 2:24 am
I just posted the how-to for hand-hemming. It doesnt’ take long, and it’s pretty easy. The end result is decent, too, I think.
February 11th, 2009 at 3:49 am
In my expereince even paying someone to hem your pants never works, now the pants are too short. Is there any way you can do something temporary? Tape? Safety pins? Hand stitching that can be easily ripped out?
February 11th, 2009 at 4:17 am
I highly reccomend Jana’s method, when she said she posted a how to I clicked it and it is a great tutorial. That is the way that my mom taught me to hem skirts, and it is pretty easy, you could probably hem a pair of pants while watching a show or something…
February 11th, 2009 at 4:28 am
Can you do a Stitch Witchery jobby on them? Does that work? I know how you like to iron.
February 11th, 2009 at 6:40 am
I live near you and I am a professional seamstress who works at home. Therefore, I’m cheap (I work by the hour, not the article). Or if you want to do it yourself at my house, I will sit near you and let you do it for free. So, contact me if you want either of the above options.
February 11th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
I think that you have enough sewing skills to handle hemming. But I’ve never done it. But this Becky Reynolds lady sounds fantastic!
February 11th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
I have no skillz so I’d pay the $12.
February 11th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
I don’t have a sewing machine and I totally suck at domestic crafts, so I happily pay the $12 to have pants hemmed… but I think you could totally do it yourself, you’re talented with that sewing machine!
But if you just don’t feel like it, I say paying the $12 (which is the general going price) is well worth it. I have tried to do simple stuff like sewing on a button or patching up a ripped seam myself and I always end up taking an hour and making it look like crap, so now I don’t even bother. I love my dry cleaner/tailor.
February 11th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
u r too cute. i have flats with a bow too.
February 11th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
I make my husband do all the hemming. He’s the seamstress in the house. Perhaps you could offer your husband $6 to learn to do the hemming.
February 11th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Do it yourself, I say. If you mess up the first pair, you’ve only wasted $5. If you don’t, you’ll save tailoring charges forever!
Then again, I have never had to hem anything. I am of the lucky height that pants are almost always the right length.
(It’s especially lucky over here, cos it’s REALLY hard to find pants in different lengths.)
February 12th, 2009 at 1:16 am
Oh my goodness, congratulations! I need to check my feed reader more often! Congratulations!!
February 12th, 2009 at 2:29 am
Those shoes are pretty freakin cute!
You could try to find out how to hem online (because, can’t we find everything online? Heck yes!) and test it out on some old pants or some pants from the DI to see if you can do it, and if so, then do it yourself.
Can I just say, I’m so jealous of you normal-heighthed people. I absolutely HATE being tall. I’ve always wanted to be around 5′3. I wish my pants were too long without me having to SEARCH for 35 inch-seams.
February 12th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Ok I haven’t read ALL the comments cuz I don’t have time (I should be getting ready for work right now.) But you know I’m cheap… err… frugal. I have to be. We don’t have money so we don’t have it to spend. That’s easy enough right!?
DUCT TAPE.
You roll the bottom cuff to where you need it and iron your pants to give it a crisp hemline.
And then you duct tape the underside in place. You can use a warm iron to re-iron the top again just to make the pleat crisp where the tape may have flattened it a tiny bit.
There ya go.
February 12th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Can’t your friend Ann give you some instructions?
Otherwise, sacrifice an old pair of pants for the sake of learning.
October 6th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
[...] and I vowed to craft and shop and hem pants and hang out during her short visit. I think we got the “hanging out” part down, but [...]