take up

Taking up means to shorten a garment by folding the hem deeper and re-stitching it, removing excess length from the bottom edge. This is one of the most common alterations in garment finishing, done after a garment has been cut and initially hemmed but found to be too long for its intended wearer. The operator folds the fabric up from the original hemline, measures the desired new length, and stitches a new crease line parallel to the original one, then trims away the excess fabric between the two hem folds.

The depth of take up varies by garment type and fabric. A typical trouser take up might be 1 to 3 inches (25 to 75 mm), while a dress or skirt may require 1 to 6 inches depending on the wearer's height. Knit fabrics require more care during take up because the fold can create visible marks; pressing with steam and using appropriate thread tension prevents puckering. Denim and heavyweight cottons tolerate deeper take ups because their density masks the previous hemline.

Take up can be done by hand or machine. Production take up is typically performed on an industrial hemming machine, where the operator feeds the folded garment under a needle moving at 3000 to 5000 stitches per minute. Custom alterations often use a blind stitch or a cover stitch to hide the new thread line. Some facilities perform take up before final pressing; others do it as a last step, which requires re-pressing the entire hem area to set the new crease.

Problems arise when the original hemline was uneven or when the garment has been washed before alteration, causing the previous crease to set visibly into the fabric. Shrinkage in the fabric between original hemming and take up can make the hem depth inconsistent. On stretch fabrics, too aggressive a take up causes the hem to pull and distort the hemline curve, particularly noticeable on fitted trousers and leggings.

Take up sits within the broader category of hem alterations. It differs from a full rehemming, which removes the original stitches entirely and creates a new hem from scratch, and from letting down, the inverse operation that requires adding fabric (usually from a hidden reserve in the original hem or by adding a facing strip). The term is specific to shortening by folding; other shortening methods, such as cutting and binding off the hem without folding, are not called take up.