How to hem those jeans that are too long!

Hi all,

A few months ago while searching around on Pinterest, I came across a pin on how to hem jeans. I have hemmed jeans for a while but never, ever, thought about doing it this way! I LOVE the fact that you can keep the original hem. Not long after I came across that pin, I was given a pair of jeans. They fit perfect, everywhere except... you guessed it... the length!

I've been having these jeans on my sewing table for quite a while, I have to admit! I went in once to sew them as the directions stated... but in my hurry (I was trying to get them done in the 15 minutes before I had to walk out the door and head to work) I broke the sewing machine needle in them.  Which reminds me... BE CAREFUL AND GO SLOWLY... or you might break the sewing machine needle!

Last night, I finally got around to finishing them.  They came out PERFECT! I wanted to share the instructions with you...

I did add one final step that I will tell you about in a minute, otherwise, this is exactly how I fixed them.

1. Try on your jeans and fold the hem up to the length you would like them to be when finished. Remember to wear shoes while you do this, as it usually adds height.

2. Carefully take the pants off, being careful to keep the hem folded to your desired length. Measure the hem... like so: Measure UP TO the original hem, to not include the hem in your measurement!

These pictures are not my own, I borrowed them from Sew Much Ado... 

3. Divide this measurement in half. Example, in the picture the hem measurement is 2 inches... 2 divided in half equals 1... so your new measurement is 1 inch. Now you will need to re-measure the hem using your new hem measurement and pin into place.

4. Do this for both legs all the way around... remember to check the measurement often.

5. Using the foot of your choice, stitch around each jean leg, through both layers as close to the original hem as possible, but do not sew ON the original hem.

6. Fold the edges to the inside of the jean legs and try on your pants to make sure your happy with the new length!

If you are happy Press the folded edges upward towards the inside of each jean leg. If you had to hem a LOT of your jean, you may want to cut the excess fabric like so.

All I did extra was top stitch close to the new hem line to keep the fabric held upwards. 

That's it! Enjoy your new hemmed pants without the hemmed look!