Hemming Jeans

[AlexN]

I hem my jeans and pants. But I have cuffed them if I really want to wear them but haven't found the time to hem.

 

[KarenQ]

Hi, I recently bought a pair of jeans, which fits really well except 1.5 inch too long. I am thinking about cutting that much off with scissors by hand myself, but not sure how well it's gonna turn out. Anyone ever did that? Please give me some advice, thank you.

 

[amblus]

it's very easy if you don't need to save the original hem. just cut the jeans about 1.5" longer than where you want them to end. fold twice (about .75" folds), iron and use a basic lockstitch with your sewing machine.

however, before you do this, make sure you have worn the jeans a bit (i usually go about a week for all the creasing to set) and washed them. both the shrinkage from washing and fabric bunching will shorten them a fair amount from when they were new.

 

[HBoogie]

I cut my jeans all the time and it turns out just fine. It's not really an exact science -- I usually just fold the pair in half so the legs are lined up and I'll cut a little bit off, then try them on, then cut more off and so on until they're the perfect length. After you wash them, they'll get that frayed effect.

I don't like the way jeans look hemmed unless the original hem is reattached, which is just too much trouble for me.

 

[charlottesometimes]

I do it similarly to amblus but to avoid the newly hemmed look I sandpaper the crease with fine sandpaper to give it that worn-in look.

 

[Edwards4Gucci]

I cut three hearts into my jeans and then cut them to Daisy Duke length... Not a good look.

 

[As You Like It]

A hint from a dressmaker:

Stretch the fabric as much as you can while you are stitching it. It will help it weather into the sort of slightly corrugated hem you get on unaltered jeans. The gold-colored topstitching thread can be had from Coates & Clark and is well worth buying if you are short and generally have to alter your bluejeans. charlottesometimes is right on the money with the sandpaper. I recommend you wash the jeans at least twice to see where the puckers are going to fall in the hem, then hit them with the finest-grit sandpaper, lightly to rough up the edges just a little bit.

I make my own bluejeans from scratch, and have had many people say they'd never guess they were home-made!

 

[CoreeGirl]

I have my Nana do them for me because I am hopeless with a sewing machine. I've never thought about the sandpaper idea.

Why do I have to hem jeans? I am 5'7, which is above average and they are all too long. Maybe I am a short-legged girl?

 

[Luna]

My mom hems all my jeans.... but 1.5 isn't that long.. are they cotton? they might shrink a lil?

 

[Melisande]

Great tips!

Make sure the back and the front are at the length you want...not necessarily straight accross.

Maybe obvious, but if youre not sure, err on the long side!

I would pin the hem down after ironing and before stitching but maybe thats because I'm not so adept.

 

[I9tryed]

short and proud!

The link below doesn't work for me. and sadly johnspicer (s) email addy doesn't work for me. I have about 4in of extra jean at the bottom. Since I wear flats even "petite" pants don't fit.

What I want to know is how do I reattach the original hem that I cut off? I just got a serger so if this is the way I am out of touch. I am imagining that the reattached hem will end up so over stitched that the pant bottom will be stiff and not have the flow that the original has.


Please advise

There is a much easier way to hem jeans!!! And when you do it this way, you are using the original hem that the jeans came with, so you don't have to wash them a million times or use cheese graters. I found a website that does a nice job of explaining the process. It even shows you pictures each step of the way.

Click here to check it out

Or copy and paste the link below:
https://www.jammfactory.net/zc/hem-like-a-pro.aspx?ref=none

 

[Lena]

robing with sand paper

good idea

 

[Phaeton]

There is a Word .doc file on how to save the original hem that you can download here.

It appears like what you are really doing is not "reattaching" a hem that has been removed, but rather pinching off the section of fabric that is causing the jeans to be too long. The pictures show this better than I can describe...

 

[Winter-Blossom]

Oooh, this thread rocks! I'm a shortie too (almost 5'3 but not quite!) and I always have to get my jeans hemmed. I like to buy them at Ron Herman/ Fred Segal because they always do it for me with the original hems and there's no charge... It cost $18 at Nordstroms for original hems and $10 for regular hems.. Usually it's $20 for original hems at the local tailor's shop and $10-15 for regular... Are those the prices y'all pay or is it a horrible Los Angeles rip off?

 

[Avant Garde]

I've looked online for various ways to hem jeans and here is a compiled list of different techniques.

DaciaRay.com

FigandPlum.com

Sewnews.com

Onegirldesignwrks

Explanation of what an original hem is

Sewing.org

Flickr.com

patternreview.com