DIY Style: Shortening A Bordered Hem

Happy Friday friends! One of my latest thrifted purchases needed altering, so this tutorial is how to shorten a bordered hem. It's very similar to sewing an original hem (for jeans). I wanted to hem this dress 2.5 inches so here is the step by step.

Step 1

Cut open stitches from original hem.

Step 2

Measuring 2.5 inches from top of border, I made a mark. Then, I cut off the bottom of the dress leaving a 0.5 inch seam allowance. Next, I measure a 0.5 inch seam allowance just above the border and cut off the excess. I ended up removing about 1.5 inches.

Step 3
Pinning the "right" sides of the fabric together, I sewed just above the brown border.

Step 4
I ironed the new seam towards the hem.

Step 5
I folded the underside of them hem (originally cut open in the first step) and pinned in place.

Step 6

I topstitched the underside of the hem just above the brown border, encasing the raw edges from step 3. After that, I pressed the hem again and ironed the rest of the dress.

That's it for this tutorial. Overall, one of the easier ones. Hope you enjoyed!