What a deep hem is actually for
Six centimetres of folded fabric at the bottom of a trouser is the difference between altering a garment and replacing it.
30 April 2026 · 3 minute read
Turn up the hem of an inexpensive trouser and you will usually find about a centimetre of fabric folded twice and overlocked. That is the cheapest hem to make and it is unalterable. The trouser can be shortened once, and never lengthened.
Ours are 6 cm deep, which costs us roughly a fifth of a metre of fabric per garment. On a run of fifteen trousers that is three metres — one and a half garments we chose not to make.
What it buys you is range. A 6 cm hem can be let down twice, so the same trouser works with flat shoes and with a heel, and it survives being handed to someone taller. It also hangs better: the extra weight at the hem pulls the leg into a straight line instead of letting it float.
The same logic runs through the side seams, which carry 4 cm of allowance rather than the usual 1 cm. Bodies change across a decade. A garment built with no allowance has decided in advance how long you get to keep it.
