Okay--I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Ashley of Make it and Love it for the original tutorial, so please, journey on over to her blog and have a look around. At the same time, I'm a pseudo-seamstress and therefore need to tweak things to make them easier for my crash-n-bash style of sewing.
I do not have long legs. I am okay with this fact, as it is a huge convenience when traveling in those tiny crevices they call seat rows in airplanes; but the world hasn't totally accepted that not all of us are leggy models, I find the need to hem my jeans. Often. Since jeans are a staple of my wardrobe. Or I really should say THE staple of my wardrobe. I pretty much wear jeans constantly (and church clothes once a week). And I LOATHE the home-made hem look you get when you have to shorten jeans. No more!!
I have a lovely old Viking that my beloved Dad gave me and I don't intend to part with her (my sewing machine) until she throws a fit and flings herself off my table. (She's come close a couple of times, but I can usually talk her down.) She moans and groans and often speeds her stitching up just when I need to slow down or stop. But I often moan and groan and gripe and fail to follow directions, so all in all we're a pretty good match.
Anyway. Here are step by step instructions for how I hem my jeans.
1. Gather your materials.
You will need:
- Sewing machine threaded with invisible thread. (You can find it at fabric stores, it's like very fine fishing line. I love the stuff.) Or if you don't want to go to the store, use whatever you have that looks denim-ish.
- Measuring Tape
- That metal hem ruler thingy (Googled it--its a "Sewing Gauge." You're welcome.)
- Denim or dark-colored thread
- Needle for hand sewing
- Thimble (This is not optional. Trust me.)
- Iron and Ironing Board
- Scissors
2. Measure and Pin
You will need to know your inseam measurements. If you don't already know it, the easiest way is to find a pair of jeans that is just the right length (Hopefully you have a pair) and measure them along the inner seam from crotch seam to edge of hem. Go do it. Write it down, you'll need it in the future.
Now measure the jeans you wish to shorten along the inseam. What's the difference? For me my new jeans were 31 1/2 inches long. I like an inseam of 30". So the formula is 31.5 - 30 = 1.5. So I needed to shorten these jeans by 1.5 inches. NOW, take that number and divide it in half. For these its would be .75 or 3/4 of an inch.
Set your Sewing Gauge for that final number. Fold the hem up (right sides together) and pin it in place so that the space between the edge of the hem and the new fold is exactly that number. Pinning and sewing is next.
3. Pin and Sew
I start my pinning (using my sewing gauge) at the side seams. One pin on either side of the bulky seam keeps them lined up properly. Then I work my way around pinning about every inch or so. I check each spot with the gauge as I put the pin in. I find that placing the pin heads so they face the folded edge makes removing them while sewing a lot easier.
Now sew. Sew as CLOSE to the folded-under edge of the original seam as you can. Don't stray over onto the hem though, that will cover up the original stitching and defeat all your hard work to preserve the look of unmodified jeans! Don't forget to backstitch at the beginning and the end. Oh and don't forget to do the other leg. I've done that and felt so blonde when trooping back downstairs to finish the other side...
4. Finger Press and Machine Tack
Flip your jeans right side out. Match the side seams together so you can find the middle of the front and back of the leg. You're going to tack the extra band of fabric up in two (of a total of four) places with your machine--at the middle front and middle back of each leg. (We'll get to tacking the side seam part later.) So finger press the seam open--give it a little stretch to be sure the original stitching on the outside of the hem shows.
Set you machine for either a close zig zag or (as I do) for a buttonhole (the end part) as shown above.
Keeping the seam open and taut, flip the leg inside out and set the edge of the fold directly under the needle. Do a few stitches. Just back and forth 3-4 times. Remember, center of the front and back of the leg.
Trim your thread and inspect your work. See that little mark at the end of my thumb? That's the tack. Ah, the beauty of invisible thread. Do the other leg. Now for the last bit.
5. Steam Press and Hand-Tack
Press the seam all the way around. Double check as you go that the seam on the "right" side is open and looks smooth. Lots of steam!
Now get your thread (I don't suggest using invisible thread for this as it's squirrely to for hand sewing.) Hand tack the side seam portion of the flap up. Use a good sharp needle and a thimble--there's a LOT of fabric to push through. If you do it carefully, your tack need only go through the inner part of the seam and won't show on the outside. Do each side seam on each leg. Now there are a total of 4 tacks in each leg spaced equally around the circumference of each hem.
You're done!
If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comment section. I'll be glad to (albeit in my langled manguage) try to explain whatever you might be stuck on. Oh and feel free to ask me very basic questions about sewing. I'm not a seamstress so I won't think it's dumb. Heck what little terminology I learned in Home Economics class 20-something years ago I've long since forgotten. So if you ask about the weird arm thing that bobs up and down, I'll totally understand. And if I don't know the answer to your question right off, I'm a very talented googler. I can almost always figure out from whom to get/steal knowledge.
Happy Hemming!
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