How To Sew A Cuff on Dress Pants
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Learn how to sew a cuff on dress pants with just a sewing machine. This is an easy way to hem nice pants without sewing by hand.
My husband’s cuff started coming undone so I thought I’d teach you how to sew a cuff while I was mending them. This is the quick “sew it with your basic sewing machine” way.
I love to skip handstitching around here if I can get away with it. I’ll tell you up front that because this is a mend, the lines are already ironed. You’ll still be able to understand how to sew a cuff though.
Learn more about hems and altering:
- Different ways to hem
- How to cut pants into shorts
- How to cuff jeans
- How to hem jeans with the original hem
- Add a cuff to pajama pants
How To Sew A Cuff on Dress Pants
Determine how long you want your pants to be. Read more on marking a hem.
Mark four lines on the outside of the pants. For men’s pants, it’s most common to mark every 1 1/4″ or 1 1/2″. For women’s cuffs, you can do almost any width you want. For these pants I marked every 1 1/2″.
The first line you mark is the hem line. This line determines the finished length of the pants.
The next line down is the 1st fold line. The third line you mark is the 2nd fold line.
The last line you mark is the cut line which is where you’ll cut off any excess. The distance to the cut line can be a little bit shorter if you’d like, but don’t cut it any closer than 1/2″. (You can see that my lines are already ironed.)
Cut on the cut line. Finish the edge. (Since mine is a mend, it was already serged.)
Fold the pants on the first fold line.
Pin all the way around.
Sew 1/8″ to 1/4″ away from the edge with a regular stitch all the way around. If you don’t have the exact color thread, than for medium to light colors go with a lighter color thread and for medium to dark colors go with a darker color thread. (Your pants are still right side out as you sew.)
It should look like this from the outside when you’re done.
Fold the hem up at the second fold line. It will correspond with the hem line. I am pointing at the hem line in the left picture. The second fold line is on the inside of the pants like you see in the picture on the right.
Stitch in the ditch on both side seams on the cuff at the top.
Do the same to the other pant leg. Press both hems, and that’s it!
How To Sew A Cuff on Dress Pants
Learn how to sew a cuff on dress pants with just a sewing machine. This is an easy way to hem nice pants without sewing by hand.
Materials
- Dress pants
Tools
- Sewing tools
- Sewing machine
Instructions
- Determine how long you want your pants to be. Read more on marking a hem.
- Mark four lines on the outside of the pants. For men's pants, it's most common to mark every 1 and 1/4" or 1 and 1/2". For women's cuffs, you can do almost any width you want. For these pants I marked every 1 1/2".
- The first line you mark is the hem line. This line determines the finished length of the pants. The next line down is the 1st fold line. The third line you mark is the 2nd fold line. The last line you mark is the cut line which is where you'll cut off any excess. The distance to the cut line can be a little bit shorter if you'd like, but don't cut it any closer than 1/2".
- Cut on the cut line. Finish the edge.
- Fold the pants on the first fold line.
- Pin all the way around.
- Sew 1/8" to 1/4" away from the edge with a regular stitch all the way around. If you don't have the exact color thread, than for medium to light colors go with a lighter color thread and for medium to dark colors go with a darker color thread.
- Fold the hem up at the second fold line. It will correspond with the hem line. I am pointing at the hem line in the left picture. The second fold line is on the inside of the pants like you see in the picture on the right.
- Stitch in the ditch on both side seams on the cuff at the top.
- Do the same to the other pant leg. Press both hems, and that's it!
If you make something using this sewing project, I’d love to see! Please share it on social media with the hashtag #heatherhandmade and tag me!
I believe small sewing moments can create great joy. Find your own “right” way to sew. -Heather
I don’t know if I’ve ever commented here before, but I have used this tutorial for so many years! Every time my husband gets a new suit I look it up again to hem his pants. Thanks for making it so easy!
Yay! That is amazing! I’m so glad it was helpful!
Link to this tutorial shared on SSB https://facebook.com/sassysewingbees. Thanks for sharing ❀
Thanks so much. I have 2 pairs of pants that have sat on my mend pile for years but I was afraid to try to re create the cuff detail. After reading this with such great pictures I feel like I can do this. Keep up the great work 🙂
Oh good! I'm so glad you understand it!
Thank you!
You need to add a picture of Henry with the cuff in his mouth!
I get it now. Thanks for sharing, and using so many pictures. I usually sew by picture rather than words. But both words and pictures helped! Thank you!
I can already tell you I will be glad I read this one day! I'm sure after my fiancé wears his work pants all summer they will need some mending!
This is perfect! My husband has a pair of dress pants that need hemmed and he likes to have a cuff, but I had no clue how to do it. I'll have to give this a try.
This is really handy! I'm not a seamstress AT ALL but I think even I could do this!
Thanks for your comment today. I appreciated it. And by the way, congrats on 300 followers!