Hemming trousers and shalwars, including cuffs and lace

Shalwars and their cuffs

A shalwar gathers into a cuff, the pauncha, at the ankle, and the cuff is often embroidered or trimmed with lace. There are two ways to shorten it.

• From the cuff: the cuff is unpicked, the leg shortened, and the same cuff gathered back on. Only the leg above it gets shorter.
• From the waist: on a shalwar with a drawstring or elastic casing, the leg can be shortened from the top instead, and a new casing made. The cuffs stay completely untouched, which is useful when they are heavily embroidered.
• Why the waist method works: a shalwar is cut with a deep, roomy crotch, so taking a few centimetres from the top usually leaves plenty of room. It does not suit fitted trousers, where the rise matters.

Straight trousers, cigarette pants and palazzos

• A plain hem: turned up and stitched. On straight trousers the hem width barely changes; on tapered styles, a shorter leg ends a little wider, because the leg is wider higher up.
• Hem slits: cigarette pants often have small slits at the hem, and these are recut at the new length so they still slip easily over the foot.
• Lace or a sewn-on border: unpicked and reattached at the new hem.
• A border worked into the fabric: cut off as a band and joined back on, with a fine seam above it.
• Palazzos and wide trousers: long, straight hems that are easy to shorten, but a small difference in length shows more on a wide leg, so measure them in the shoes you wear most.
• Narrowing at the same time: straight or wide trousers can often be narrowed while they are shortened, from the knee down or the full length.

The waist can be refreshed too

While trousers are being altered, the waist can often be adjusted as well: new elastic, a drawstring swapped for elastic or the other way round, or an elastic back with a flat front for trousers that bunch under a fitted kameez. Tired elastic lets trousers sit lower than they should, which makes them look too long, so sometimes new elastic is the only fix they need.

If the kameez needs work too, a tailor can look at both pieces at once. Our guide to shortening a kameez without losing the border covers the top half.

Measuring, and asking a tailor

Put the trousers on with the shoes you wear most, pin the hem where you want it, and measure from the pin to the current hem. Or measure a pair whose length you like, from the top of the waistband down the outside seam to the hem. Take those shoes with you when the length is checked.

For the alteration itself, take the trousers to a local tailor who can see the hem inside and out and pin the length on you. Say whether the cuff, lace or border must stay exactly as it is, and ask which method suits the fabric and trim, and what it will cost, before anything is unpicked. Altering existing garments is not one of our services, but if the trousers cannot be shortened well, or you would rather have a pair cut to your length from the start, we can make a new outfit to your measurements: see custom stitching or start a quote.