How to Hem Vegan Leather Pants

Wearing: Everlane Cashmere Polo in Tan (Similar by J.Crew), Aritiza Melina Vegan Leather Pants in Black, On Running Roger Center Court Sneaker in White.

Last year I fell into the Aritzia Melina Vegan Leather Pants trend. It wasn’t because I’m gullible, but because I needed new “leather” pants anyway and I heard these were the most flattering pants in the entire world (they are). Over time I’ve noticed that I reach for them less because they are slightly too long. Today I’m sharing how to hem vegan leather pants in case you’ve got a pair just begging to be worn this fall.

Since I purchased my pants I’ve had a few times where I wanted to wear them but the length didn’t look right with my shoes or the rest of the outfit. After wearing them for my halloween costume this year I finally decided to do something about it. The pants don’t have a standard sewn hem around the bottom aside from a stay stitch and I only needed to shorten them by an inch. I added tiny stitches to the sides to help them stay, but you don’t have to.

Materials:

• Vegan leather pants.
  Mine are the Melina Pant by Aritzia.
• Aleene’s No-Sew Fabric Glue
• Thread Scissors
• Clothespins, 20 or more is best.
• Heavy Duty Thread in the same color as your pants
• Sewing needle

Method:

1. Turn your pants inside out and try them on as best as you can. Cuff the pant leg to where you want to hem it and make note by measuring, or pinning, or marking. Be sure to look in the mirror and try on with multiple pairs of shoes to be sure the length is perfect.
2. Take the pants off and lay them flat. Fold or cuff the pant leg up to the spot you want the hem line to fall and add a good amount of no-sew glue all along one side, then press flat with your hand.
3. Use clothes pins every inch or two to pin it in place while it dries, making sure that the fabric is flat between pins.
4. Repeat for the other side of the pant leg, and again for both sides of the other pant leg.
5. To reinforce this new hemline, add a stitch at each side seam and cuff meeting (4 total). To do this, use about 20″ of thread and sew one stitch through the edge of the newly formed pant cuff, and the excess fabric of the side seam of the pant. This will ensure that your stitch will not show on the outside of the pants. Tie it off and repeat 3 more times.
6. Wait for the glue to dry and remove the clips. I waited 6 hours for mine, but you may want to wait longer just to be sure.
7. Enjoy!

I’m so happy with the result and can’t wait to get more use out of these pants. Sometimes a small update is all a clothing item needs to work better for our wardrobe. To see the whole process, check out my video!