let down
To lengthen by undoing and resewing a hem.
let down: extend a garment by lowering its hem
Letting down is the process of lengthening a garment, typically trousers, skirts, or sleeves, by unpicking the existing hem and resewing it lower on the fabric. This is distinct from simple hemming because the original stitching must be carefully removed, the fold line pressed out, and a new hem created at a greater distance from the edge. The operation assumes sufficient fabric exists below the current hem to provide the desired length increase.
The amount a garment can be let down depends on how much hem allowance was built in during initial construction. Quality menswear and children's clothing often feature hem allowances of 2 to 3 inches specifically to accommodate growth or alterations. A trouser hem can typically be let down by 1 to 2 inches without difficulty; beyond that, the original fold line and pressing marks become visible and create an aesthetic problem, even after pressing and wearing.
Practical limits and visible markers
A visible marker of a let-down hem is the horizontal line where the original hem crease was pressed into the fabric. With natural fibres like wool or cotton, this crease fades with time and wear, but immediately after letting down it remains obvious. Dark fabrics show this more readily than light ones. Professional alterations work around this by using techniques like careful steam pressing or, in some cases, adding a facing strip to hide the old crease line.
Letting down differs fundamentally from taking up a hem. Taking up is straightforward: you simply fold the fabric higher and stitch. Letting down requires judgment about whether the residual fabric quality and any discolouration will be acceptable. Fabrics that have faded or changed texture along the old fold line may never look uniform again, making letting down impossible on visible garments despite adequate length being available.
This alteration is common in children's and adolescent clothing, where growth is predictable and garments are expensive to replace. It is also performed on expensive tailored pieces where the cost of alteration is justified by the cost of the garment. Industrial or work clothing, where hems are typically narrow and allowances minimal, seldom permits letting down. The term itself dates from standard tailoring vocabulary and remains standard in the alteration and repair trades.