How To Hem Jeans

I’ve mentioned before – I’m pretty short. 5 feet and 1 inch tall, to be exact. Whenever I buy pants of any kind I have to buy the “short” length, and even then they are sometimes too long. Last weekend I found a pair of jeans at Old Navy that fit me perfectly on top but were the regular length so they were ridiculously long on me. I couldn’t pass them up though – they were $5.97.

Luckily, I didn’t have to pass them up because I know how to sew. Some of my readers are back-to-school shopping right now for your kids. You’re looking for deals but your kids want the trendy stuff. And even if you know how to sew – they don’t want their torn-up-on-purpose jeans looking hemmed. I don’t blame them. I don’t like my pants to look like they’ve been hemmed either.

Jeans can be tricky because a lot of times that bottom hem is part of what makes the style. The jeans I picked up on sale are a little teenager-y looking for me (but I still think they are pretty cute) so they are the perfect example for what I want to show you today …

How to hem jeans and keep the original bottom hem

Begin by figuring out how long you want the jeans. Either measure the inseam of a pair of jeans that you like or just fold the bottom hem up to where you want it to be. Remember to include that bottom hem in your measuring because we’re keeping that. Just work on one pant leg to begin with. When you get it where you like it, pin  it in place. Unlike ordinary hemming, you are NOT going to sew these inside out. Simply fold them up.

Match the front to the back and both sides to be sure you aren’t going to hem one side shorter than the other.

Once you’ve got the first pant leg just how you want it, fold the jeans in half and lay them flat like this. Then fold the second pant leg to match up to the first one.

Once you have them both pinned up, it’s time to sew. Of course, you can do this by hand but I’m much too impatient to demonstrate that. You’re going to sew right along the edge of the original hem but NOT ON IT. As close to the edge as you can. Like this …

After you sew the hem, stop there and try them on. Just flip the extra stuff under and make sure you like the length. At this point can you can still rip the seam out and start again. After this it gets a lot trickier to fix. I tried mine on. I thought it looked good.

If you’re happy with the length, continue on. If not, rip the seam out and try again. Take the jeans back off and head back to the sewing machine. If you have a serger then cut the extra off and serge them. If, like me, you don’t have a serger then sew a zig-zag stitch right next to the straight stitch you just sewed – make the edge of the zig-zag touch the straight stitch if you can but don’t let it overlap.

Now, take a deep breath and keep a steady hand. Take your sharp fabric scissors and cut the extra material off. You want to cut right on the other side of the zig-zag, as close as possible without cutting the stitch.

Iron the seam nice and flat with a very hot iron. Try ‘em on. Like it? Good. Now do the other side. If you look really close you can tell … but you wouldn’t say they look hemmed, would you?

I know … I’m in the bathroom. I wanted you to get the full effect though.

Please keep in mind … this won’t work if the jeans have much of a flare at the bottom. If that’s the case, then cut the bottom hem off about an inch up, then cut the circle hem into a straight line so it’s no longer connected. Sew on as described above but you won’t use the whole hem. Just sew the ends together once you get all the way around.

Why I do what I do ~ Chloe was going through a funny phase a little while ago. Whenever a song would come on in the car that David listens to regularly Chloe would say, “That’s Daddy’s favorite song.” She’d do it with almost all the music I’d listen to. As soon as it was something familiar she’d pipe up and tell me it’s his favorite. Then one day I was bored of the CD I was listening to in the car and switched it to the country music station. I like country music but David does NOT. I don’t listen to it all that often and I can’t think of a time when we’ve said anything about it in front of her. But sure enough … as soon as I turned the radio to country, Chloe made a weird face and said, “This is NOT Daddy’s favorite song.” Perceptive little girl …Have you liked Domestic Cents on Facebook yet?

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