I found the best "life hack" the other day. I recently bought a new pair of jeans to wear with boots. When I tried them on at the store (without shoes) they were long, but I figured they would be fine once I had my boots on. Wrong! When I got home and tried the jeans and boots together, the jeans were still way too long. This was a bit frustrating because my only choices were:
1. return the jeans (that I really liked)
2. hem them up Finding jeans has always been an issue for me (see link) Dear Jeans, I am Leaving You for Yoga Pants. So the thought of returning a pair that actual fit everywhere but the length is not something I wanted to do. I am not great with sewing, especially on a machine. In fact, I sent my sewing machine to live with my mom because our relationship (the machine and myself) is so bad. LOL! Seriously, any time I try to sew on a machine it is a complete joke. I just can't seem to get along with it. I am pretty good with a needle and thread after sewing countless Cub Scout / Boy Scout badges onto uniforms, but dreadful with an actual sewing machine.
2. hem them up Finding jeans has always been an issue for me (see link) Dear Jeans, I am Leaving You for Yoga Pants. So the thought of returning a pair that actual fit everywhere but the length is not something I wanted to do. I am not great with sewing, especially on a machine. In fact, I sent my sewing machine to live with my mom because our relationship (the machine and myself) is so bad. LOL! Seriously, any time I try to sew on a machine it is a complete joke. I just can't seem to get along with it. I am pretty good with a needle and thread after sewing countless Cub Scout / Boy Scout badges onto uniforms, but dreadful with an actual sewing machine.
My other dilemma was that I wanted the look of the original hem. I don't like just cuffing them under and then hemming, because you don't get that original seam effect. I decided Pinterest was the place to go to figure out how to keep my jeans, but not drag two inches of fabric on the ground as I walked. I specifically searched, "how to hem jeans with the original seam". Pinterest delivered, as always!!! I had tutorials with descriptions and tutorials with step by step pictures. I read a couple of the blog posts and picked two that made the most sense to me. Then I tried out the process on an old pair of jeans in case the experience was awful and the jeans ended up ruined. It seemed pretty easy on the old pair of jeans, so I cheered myself on to try it out on the new jeans. Voila!!! It took me about an hour and I was super careful with my measurements and pinning. It really was very simple and worked like a charm.
The idea is that you cuff the jeans up (not under), sew directly next to the original seem, then cut off the extra fabric (the cuff). Here is a picture of my finished product. Although, I still haven't cut off the extra fabric. It seems too permanent! Not that my legs will be growing in length any time soon. Ha!!!
(Both legs are done in this picture. You can't tell at all from the outside of the jean.)
If you look closely, you can see the "cuff" or extra fabric. That is the part you should cut off. I can't seem to part with it yet, so I ironed it down and you can't even tell from the outside. Also, if you zoom in you can see my navy blue stitch directly under the original hem. Since it is so close to the seam, you cannot see it from the outside of the jeans. Can you use the words seam and hem interchangeably??? I have no idea...
Seriously, I wish I could give each of these bloggers a big hug! I feel like I just learned the best tip, practically life changing! LOL