I'm cheap. I must confess, I don't understand the designer jean trend. Or the fact that people aren't even batting an eye at paying nearly $200 (or more!) for a pair of jeans. It baffles me. I recently went to a garage sale where the gal was selling about 3 dozen pairs of her designer jeans, all for about $10 a pair. Add that up people. That's a lot of money on jeans!
I found two pairs of jeans in my size and thought I would give them a chance. I even commented to the gal selling them that I don't normally pay $10 for clothes at garage sales. She said I would have less buyers remorse at $10 than she did at $180! I think she was right.
Other than the price tag, the other thing that is difficult about designer jeans is that unless you are supermodel tall, you will probably have to have your jeans hemmed. Add another $15-$20 for that. Most people pay more to have the original hem left in tact and I must say, it does look better. I looked into getting these jeans hemmed, but paying more for the tailoring than I did for the jean didn't seem right, so I set to work trying to figure out how to do it on my own. I found that it was so easy!
This is how this particular Seven for All Mankind wideleg bootcut jean started out.
I folded up the bottom to a length that I thought would work when I wore heels or flats.
The second pair of jeans were Joes Jeans. If you notice the original hem isn't as thick on that pair.
After you fold them up to the desired length, take them off. Measure the folded area not including the already hemmed part of the jean. In this case I had 1 1/2" that was too long.
Divide that number (3/4" in my case) and fold the bottom to that length all the way around the jean. Make sure you line up seams on both sides.
I then pinned it in place. Only work with one leg at a time just in case you mess up or need to make it shorter or longer than you anticipated. Take your jeans over to your machine and start stitching just below and as close as you can get to your original hem line, making sure you backstitch.
This will leave you with a little excess fabric pocket of sorts. If you look closely in the picture below you can see my black stitching just below the hem.
Can you see how there is a little extra fabric in there? On this jean I left it. You can cut it off, using your serger but it didn't get in the way, so I left it, just in case I grow a few inches and need to take them out.
On the Joes jeans with the smaller original hem, I cut the extra fabric off. I was too lazy to change my serger thread so I am doing a little experiment to see if it matters.
The final step is to press the seams down.
That's it! So easy!
No more puddle around my feet.
27 comments
I LOVE you for posting this! I am just under 5'3" and I have been looking for a good jeans hemming tutorial for ages! I like to get the designer jeans at Ross/Marshall's but they are always at least 6 inches too long! This is great! So excited to try it!
I saw this on a link up, and I'm so glad I found it. I won some Joe's Jeans, but their smallest length was 34 inches, and I'm 5'4 and don't wear heels, so I need them tailored. If I get brave enough, I'll use your tutorial. Thanks!
Lori @ http://www.thetowells.com
Sooo that's how you adjust for a wider hem. I could never figure out how you reattached a flared hem higher on the leg. No I know! Thanks for sharing and linking!
That is weird. This is the second post I've seen for hemming jeans while keeping the original hem intact in a week.
I copied your tut too that way between two, I should definitely get it!!
Elizabeth, do it! If you are worried about it, just don't cut the hem off. You can always let it down (and I did have to redo one of mine and it didn't leave a trace).
Melissa, Great minds must think alike! Who else posted about it this week? Hope they don't think I copied.
...I'm visiting from Sassy Sites! Come by and say HI! Your blog is adorable! I'm a new follower!
http://sassysites.blogspot.com/
This is BRILLIANT! I've always wondered how they do that hem trick. I hope you don't mind if a borrow a picture and feature you on my blog. Feel free to grab my "featured" brag button if you'd like. Thanks for this tutorial. I love it!
P.S. For some reason I can't comment using my url, so this is my regular blog account. But to see your feature, go to www.thesassyhomemaker.com.
Oh my!!! I can't wait to try this. I have so many pairs of jeans that I need to hem and I am like you...not willing to pay the $$ a tailor would charge. Thank you thank you thank you for showing us how to to it ourselves!! :)
www.thatvillagehouse.blogspot.com
Thanks for this great tutorial. I see a lot of jean hemming in my future with my three little ones. :) Cute blog!! (visiting from Trendy House Creative Share)
You taught me something new on that...i would have botched that up!
AWESOME! Thanks so much for sharing - a very much needed tutorial!!!
I have never heard of keeping the hem intact, but I think it is a great idea. Thanks for the info.
This is a really good tutorial! Your *new* jeans look like you bought them right off the rack that way. Well done!! :) Thanks so much for linking up to my party. If you could please add a text link or my button so that your post links back to my party, that would be great. My blog is small, so I rely on link-backs to get the word out. Thanks! :)
I've had a pair of jeans in the car FOR MONTHS waiting to be taken to the seamstress! I may have to give this a try! Thank you!
I'm a new follower!
Thanks so much! I just hemmed five pairs of pants yesterday, and I was thinking, "I wish there was a way that they wouldn't look so generic". Thanks again! I'll be doing this in the future.
Congratulations, your hemming project made this week's Top 5 Hits at Singing With Birds. Come check it out, grab a button and have a great weekend!
LOVE THIS!!! You just saved this mom a bundle of money. Woohooooo!
These look wonderful! I can't believe I actually paid someone to do this... Not full price, mind you, but still...
Stopping by from (last week's) Saturday is Crafty Day at along for the ride. Happy Saturday!
Great tutorial! I had to read it twice to figure it out - a little slow! My son just got 2 pair that are too long and it never looks that good when you just cut them and rehem. This is very clever. Thanks for the info.
THIS is the post I've been waiting for all my life! At 5' 2", I can rarely find good deals on jeans that are the right length, and I'm far too cheap to pay to have them hemmed. THANK YOU!! (btw, found you from Keep it Simple!)
Thank you so Much! I've been waiting for such an easy demo! Nothing before seemed as simlply put as this!
Lisa
love love this! v. easy to follow...
off to hem!
Michelle
I am so excited! I just stitched my first leg and by golly, it worked!! Thank-you so much!! Off to sew some more!!! :)
I just wanted to tell you that you are amazing! I tried this today and it was great! You couldn't even tell that I had hemmed them and it took me like 10 minutes!
Thanks!!
Great tutorial! I was wondering how in the world I was going to hem my super deal jeans. I like you did not want to spend $15 on $8 jeans. Thanks.
I just did a pair of jeans myself using this method BUT I didn't understand taking 1/2 of the measurement needed when stitching...I just figured I needed an 1 1/2 inches gone and then pinned it as if I did the stitching already and it was perfect, so not sure why it worked just taking off what I actually needed...but THANKS for this tutorial, I now don't have to wear the back of my jeans off because of excessive length!
OMG. I can't believe all these years I never thought of that. I am 5'3" and have passed up so many jeans because I am not paying the additional amount to have then altered. Seriously!!! That is all there is to it! Amazing!!!! THANK YOU.
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