צריך לפרום את המכפלת לפני שתופרים אותה.

In this sentence, צריך is being used in an impersonal way, like it is necessary to... or one/you need to...

So:

• צריך לפרום... = It is necessary to unpick...
• In natural English, this often becomes You need to...

Hebrew often leaves the subject unstated when the meaning is general. So the sentence does not explicitly say who needs to do it.

If you wanted to name the subject, you could say:

• אני צריך/ה... = I need to...
• אתה צריך... = you (masc. singular) need to...
• את צריכה... = you (fem. singular) need to...

Here, without a subject, צריך works like a general statement.

Because this is an impersonal/general use of צריך.

When צריך means something like it is necessary or you need to in a general sense, Hebrew often uses the masculine singular form by default.

So even though no specific masculine person is being talked about, צריך is still normal here.

Compare:

• צריך לפרום את המכפלת = You need to unpick the hem / It’s necessary to unpick the hem
• אני צריכה לפרום... = I need to unpick... (speaker is female)
• הם צריכים לפרום... = They need to unpick...

לפרום is the infinitive form of the verb פרם, meaning to unpick, to undo stitching, or to rip out seams/stitches.

The prefix ל־ often marks the infinitive in Hebrew, similar to to in English:

• לתפור = to sew
• לכתוב = to write
• לפרום = to unpick

So:

• צריך לפרום = need to unpick

This is a very common pattern in Hebrew:

• צריך + infinitive
• רוצה + infinitive
• יכול + infinitive

For example:

• אני רוצה לאכול = I want to eat
• הוא יכול לבוא = he can come

המכפלת means the hem.

Breaking it down:

• מכפלת = hem
• ה־מכפלת = the hem

This is a clothing/sewing word. It refers to the folded, finished edge at the bottom of a garment, skirt, pants, etc.

So in this sentence, we are talking about undoing the hem before sewing it again.

את is the Hebrew direct object marker.

It appears before a definite direct object—usually one with ה־ (the) or a proper name.

So:

• לפרום את המכפלת = to unpick the hem

Here, המכפלת is definite because it means the hem, so it takes את.

Compare:

• אני רואה את הילד = I see the boy
• היא לובשת את השמלה = she wears the dress

But with an indefinite object, you usually do not use את:

• אני רואה ילד = I see a boy

Because לפני ש־ means before [someone does something] and introduces a clause.

So:

• לפני שתופרים אותה = before sewing it / before one sews it / before they sew it

This structure is extremely common:

• לפני ש־ + verb

Examples:

• לפני שיוצאים = before going out / before one goes out
• לפני שאוכלים = before eating
• לפני שמתחילים = before starting

Hebrew often uses a full clause where English might use an -ing form.

So even though English says before sewing it, Hebrew naturally says something more like before they/one sew it.

תופרים is the masculine plural present-tense form of to sew.

But here it does not necessarily mean a specific group of men. Hebrew often uses the masculine plural for a general, impersonal meaning, similar to English you, they, or people.

So:

• לפני שתופרים אותה literally = before they sew it
• natural English = before sewing it or before you sew it

This is a very common Hebrew style.

For example:

• כאן אוכלים טוב = literally here they eat well, but really the food is good here / people eat well here
• איך מגיעים לתחנה? = literally how do they get to the station?, but really how do you get to the station?

אותה means her or it as a direct object in the feminine singular.

In this sentence, it means it, and it refers back to המכפלת (the hem), which is a feminine noun.

So:

• המכפלת = feminine singular
• therefore אותה = it referring to a feminine singular noun

Compare the object pronouns:

• אותו = him/it (masculine singular)
• אותה = her/it (feminine singular)
• אותם / אותן = them

So:

• תופרים אותה = sew it (with it referring to a feminine noun)

It may feel repetitive from an English point of view, but it is normal in Hebrew.

The first part names the object:

• לפרום את המכפלת = to unpick the hem

The second part refers back to it with a pronoun:

• לפני שתופרים אותה = before sewing it

English does exactly the same thing:

• unpick the hem before sewing it

So this is not unusual—Hebrew is just matching the same idea.

Yes, תופרים is formally a present-tense form.

But after words like לפני ש־, Hebrew present tense often has a broader meaning that English may translate in different ways depending on context:

• before one sews it
• before they sew it
• before sewing it

So although the Hebrew form is present tense, the most natural English translation is often an -ing phrase.

This is very common and nothing unusual is happening grammatically.

The verb is תפר = to sew.

Here are some useful forms:

• לתפור = to sew
• תופר = sews / sewing (masculine singular)
• תופרת = sews / sewing (feminine singular)
• תופרים = sew / sewing (masculine plural or general)
• תופרות = sew / sewing (feminine plural)

So in the sentence:

• שתופרים אותה = that they sew it / that one sews it / sewing it

This is a useful vocabulary distinction.

• לפרום means to unpick, to undo stitches, to rip out sewing
• לקרוע means to tear

So if you are talking about sewing, hems, seams, thread, or stitches, לפרום is the much better word.

Examples:

• לפרום תפר = to unpick a seam
• לקרוע בד = to tear fabric

In this sentence, לפרום is exactly right because a hem is normally undone by removing stitches, not by simply tearing the cloth.

Yes. If you want to say exactly who needs to do it, Hebrew can make that explicit.

For example:

• אתה צריך לפרום את המכפלת לפני שתופר אותה
  You (masc. sg.) need to unpick the hem before sewing it

• את צריכה לפרום את המכפלת לפני שתופרת אותה
  You (fem. sg.) need to unpick the hem before sewing it

• צריך לפרום את המכפלת לפני שתופרים אותה
  One/you need to unpick the hem before sewing it

The original version sounds general and natural, especially in instructions.

Yes, very much.

Hebrew often uses general/impersonal forms in instructions, directions, and explanations:

• צריך... = you need to...
• יש ל־... = it is necessary to...
• עושים... = you do... / one does...
• בודקים... = check... / one checks...

So צריך לפרום את המכפלת לפני שתופרים אותה sounds like a normal instruction in a sewing context.

It is similar in tone to English instructions like:

• You need to remove the hem before resewing it
• First unpick the hem, then sew it