How to Hem Your Jeans to the Perfect Length and Make the Most of Your Wardrobe

Finding jeans that fit can be a difficult enough task without trying to get them the right length, on top of fitting every other part of your body. Fortunately, though, hemming your jeans is really simple and one I've done multiple times.

This tutorial is pretty simple, simply measuring, pinning and sewing a straight line. I've seen (and tried) much more complicated tutorials for hemming jeans (including keeping the original hem in place) but I was never satisfied with those. (The one for keeping the original hem in place? It looked great...until I washed the jeans and then it was always too wonky, so I never wear them anymore.)

Like they say, less really is more, sometimes.

So, without further ado, the latest tutorial in the Make the Most of Your Wardrobe series (and you can check out all the tutorials here if you've missed any).

 

First, you'll need to find some pants (obviously they don't have to be jeans, but that's what I end up hemming most of the time!) that are too long. Here is the pair I chose for this tutorial:




Step 1} The first thing you'll need to do is turn your pants inside out. Then, try them on and fold them up (just once) at the point where you'd like the new hem to hit. Pin them in place. Make sure to keep the cuffs even and straight on both sides.



Step 2} I am a big believer in double-checking your work (always served me well in math class, too!), so I'd recommend turning the jeans right-side-out and trying them on to make sure that you're happy with the hem placement, being sure not to poke yourself on the pins. If the hems aren't lined up or don't hit exactly where you want, take the time now to remove the pins and go back to step one, tweaking until you get it looking just right. Your patience and persistence will pay off in the end! Once you're ready, turn the pants inside out and get ready to start sewing!



Step 3} One of the key elements to a successful hem job is using thread that matches your pants as close to perfectly as possible. You want the thread to disappear into the fabric and barely be noticeable. Compare a variety of thread colors until you find the closest match!

With that in place, set up your sewing machine. (Here’s a newer version of the sewing machine I have. It’s computerized so it makes everything so much easier!)

Starting at one of the edges where the front and back of the pants meet, sew a straight line either just above or just below the original bottom of the hem. (In the pictures above, you can see that I sewed just above the original hem, but your original hem might be skinnier, in which case I'd recommend sewing a new line just below that.)

Because my new hem was pretty wide, I also sewed a second line about a quarter of inch from the bottom of the new hem. (Visible in the right-most stitching in the photos above.) I did this just to ensure that the new hem would lay flat and crisp. If you're only hemming your pants a little bit, this isn't necessary and is purely optional.



Step 4} Turn your pants right-side-out and check out how you did on your hemming job. If you aren't happy with how they turned out, you can always use a seamripper and carefully pull the stitches out and start over. It might be time-consuming, but it's worth it to get it right!


Finally, admire your new jeans! If you like this tutorial, you can bookmark it on Pinterest. You can also follow me on Pinterest here.

P.S. If you are new to this blog, thank you so much for stopping by! You can feel free to browse all my other posts about my journey toward a lifestyle of simplicity and DIY, as well as some of the ways my husband and I are learning to save money. I also write about my faith, my marriage and everything in between, which you can explore in the archives.

If you like this recipe, click here to pin it to Pinterest. You can also follow me on Pinterest here.  


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