Sewing Fool
My next pinterest project was born of necessity. I had two brand new pairs of jeans which I desperately needed, but they were both too long.
Whenever possible, I try to mend or alter our own clothes. I feel like it is not financially or environmentally sound to toss a pair of pants because of one small hole. Of course, I also have two boys, and most of their clothes are already used when we get them, so I sometimes have to deal with some pretty big holes. My worst cast scenario is they get turned into rags (we are always in need of rags because we don't use paper towels or tissues).
But in this case, I had actually bought new jeans, and nice ones. I have very few clothes in my closet, and I practically live in jeans. I was down to one pair that wasn't ripped, and they aren't the dressiest in the world. So, even though I had these new jeans I was avoiding them because I wasn't sure how I was going to hem them and keep them looking nice.
And then, I read this tutorial making its way around pinterest. It is so easy. For reals. I feel like I say that a lot, but despite my fascination with homemade, I likely will not try something unless it is simple enough for common (wo)man to accomplish.
The instructions are courtesy of Sew Much Ado. She did such a good job with the tutorial that I am just going to paste it below:
Instructions:
1. Try on your jeans and fold the hem up (right sides together) to the length that you'd like your finished hem. Remember to wear a pair of shoes that you would normally wear with the jeans. If you wear flats most often, throw on a pair. If you like to wear wedges, go with those.
2. Take off your jeans and measure from the bottom fold to the bottom of the original hem.
3. Divide the measurement from step 2 by 2. Example: I folded my jeans up 2 inches in step 1, and divided that 2 inch measurement by 2 to get 1 inch. Using the new measurement, fold the hem up again and pin in place (remember to ignore the original hem when measuring).
4. Continue pinning each pant leg as in step 3, until both hems are completely pinned.
5. Using a zipper foot, stitch around each jean leg, through both layers of jean, as close to original hem as possible. Note: Do not stitch ON original hem, but immediately adjacent to it.
6. Turn folded edges to inside of jean legs and try your jeans on to make sure you're happy with the new length!
7. Press the folded edges upward toward the inside of each jean leg. You can also sew a couple of hand stitches at each side seam on the inside of each leg to tack the folded edges in place if you'd like. Note: If you had to hem a large amount from your jeans (I'd say greater than 2 inches or so), you may prefer to trim the folded edge and serge or zig zag the edges to reduce bulk.Make sure to press each jean leg from the outside as well to give a nice clean hemline.
Photos are mine, but thanks to Sew Much Ado for the amazingly clear and easy tutorial.
A few notes about the process:
The dividing of the length of fold is crucial, because once you sew the new hem, you turn it back on itself, so it automatically doubles the amount taken up.
You might have noticed above that I did not use a zipper foot, because, frankly, I forgot. Although mine turned out fine, it might be a little easier to keep the stitch just adjacent to the original hem.
I have sewing skills, but they usually involve straight lines like pillow covers. I don't even know all the terminology used in sewing, although I do use my machine on a regular basis. This whole project took me about 15 minutes from start to finish, including trying on the jeans and ironing.
The instructions are courtesy of Sew Much Ado. She did such a good job with the tutorial that I am just going to paste it below:
Instructions:
1. Try on your jeans and fold the hem up (right sides together) to the length that you'd like your finished hem. Remember to wear a pair of shoes that you would normally wear with the jeans. If you wear flats most often, throw on a pair. If you like to wear wedges, go with those.
2. Take off your jeans and measure from the bottom fold to the bottom of the original hem.
3. Divide the measurement from step 2 by 2. Example: I folded my jeans up 2 inches in step 1, and divided that 2 inch measurement by 2 to get 1 inch. Using the new measurement, fold the hem up again and pin in place (remember to ignore the original hem when measuring).
4. Continue pinning each pant leg as in step 3, until both hems are completely pinned.
5. Using a zipper foot, stitch around each jean leg, through both layers of jean, as close to original hem as possible. Note: Do not stitch ON original hem, but immediately adjacent to it.
6. Turn folded edges to inside of jean legs and try your jeans on to make sure you're happy with the new length!
7. Press the folded edges upward toward the inside of each jean leg. You can also sew a couple of hand stitches at each side seam on the inside of each leg to tack the folded edges in place if you'd like. Note: If you had to hem a large amount from your jeans (I'd say greater than 2 inches or so), you may prefer to trim the folded edge and serge or zig zag the edges to reduce bulk.Make sure to press each jean leg from the outside as well to give a nice clean hemline.
Photos are mine, but thanks to Sew Much Ado for the amazingly clear and easy tutorial.
A few notes about the process:
The dividing of the length of fold is crucial, because once you sew the new hem, you turn it back on itself, so it automatically doubles the amount taken up.
You might have noticed above that I did not use a zipper foot, because, frankly, I forgot. Although mine turned out fine, it might be a little easier to keep the stitch just adjacent to the original hem.
I have sewing skills, but they usually involve straight lines like pillow covers. I don't even know all the terminology used in sewing, although I do use my machine on a regular basis. This whole project took me about 15 minutes from start to finish, including trying on the jeans and ironing.
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