“What is it that we love about the movie Sex and the City?” asked Stacey to her friend Miranda.
“It’s the chic and sophisticated fashion sense of all four successful women, especially Carrie Bradshaw.” answered Miranda.
“No wonder Carrie Bradshaw had a phenomenal dressing sense, and now as you told, I just recalled how I completely admired her hemmed jeans look and then I did hem all my jeans by hand. And it made the heads turn for me.” replied Stacey.
“Really? You know how to hem jeans by hand? Hey, please teach me the same.” told Miranda.
“Yes, of course, it’s not that big a deal. You will just need your sewing machine, fabric scissors, thread, measuring tape, and a few more items.” replied Stacey.
As Miranda has Stacey by her side teaching her how to hem jeans, you have us!
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Supplies Needed to Hem Jeans
Before knowing how to shorten jeans length, gathering all the products you would need to hem jeans is necessary.
- Jeans
The hemming work is best suited for straight or skinny jeans, not flared ones. This is because flared jeans have wider bottoms, unlike straight or skinny jeans.
- Sewing Machine
A sewing machine will be required if you opt for lock or straight stitching and zig-zag stitching. Lock stitching is the fundamental stitch performed on a sewing machine where the top and bottom threads are locked together. A Zig-zag stitch is a lock stitch variant that involves a back-and-forth stitch. It is majorly used for stitching buttonholes or stretchable fabric.
- Fabric Scissors
Get yourself fabric scissors with sharper blades and steeper angles, unlike traditional scissors that are blunt and thinner. Only a sharp blade will lead to precise and clean cuts.
- Thread
Get some threads matching the color of your jeans to sew. Choosing some other color will only make it appear incoherent.
- Measuring Tape
Measuring tape for measuring the fabric and marking the exact length of the jeans you wish to hem.
- Pins
Pins are required to mark the new hem's position in the jeans.
How to Hem Jeans Keeping the Original Hem
Someday we notice bootcut jeans making it to the Vogue magazine front cover, and on other days it is Mom jeans. Having hemmed jeans will make your legs look longer and give you an edgy look. Some of your jeans might fit perfectly on your waist but is super long and requires hemming. The below steps might help hem your jeans.
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Decide Where to Hem
The first step to dressing like Carrie Bradshaw is to decide where you want the hem to be. Place the jeans on the surface, and mark the hemming point. For example, you can place the hem at the top of your ankle for skinny jeans. The hem needs to fall at the bottom of the ankle for straight jeans, and for flared or bootcut jeans, place them ¼ - ½“ off the ground.
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Fold Up the Bottom
When you have decided on the needed portion for sewing, it is time to fold the bottom of the jeans, following the trail of the existing hemline. Again, remember that you need to sew precisely alongside the existing hemline.
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Pin the Hem in Place
Now, after folding the bottoms of the jeans, it is time to pin them using sewing pins. Ensure to line up the side seams of the jeans as well.
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Sew the Hem
Here comes the primary step of hemming the jeans using thread. Stitch around the circumference of the jeans, right below the original hem. You can use your hand or the sewing machine. To simplify, you must sew the cuff to the jeans and then fold it inside the leg. The advantage of doing this is that you can draw the hem later once you grow taller.
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Unfold the Hem
Now, you need to tuck the remaining fabric of the folded cuff placed up into the legs of the jeans, unfolding the original hem downwards so that it again shows itself. On doing this, you will notice a small fabric coil at the bottom of the jeans. You need to try on the jeans to see if the length is correct.
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Iron the Jeans
Simply iron the hem of the jeans and smoothen it out. And nobody will be able to tell that you have hemmed your jeans.
How to Hem Jeans by Creating a New Hem
Another way of hemming the jeans is creating a new hem. Check out this process as well.
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Mark Your Jeans Where you'd Like the New Hem To Be
Wear the jeans, and keep folding the cuff till you reach the length you want it to be. And mark that length with chalk stating where the hem needs to end.
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Measure and Mark Two More Lines
In this step, mark another line measuring ½ in (1.3 cm) from the hem line running parallelly. Similarly, draw another line below the original hem line measuring ½ in (1.3 cm). So, you will then have three lines in total.
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Cut Along the Bottom Line
Start cutting the bottom of the jeans and the older hem by making a straight line and discard that material.
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Fold the New Hem Under
Now, fold along the center chalk line to create the new hem, and pin it up. Ensure that the hem is smoothly done before you sew.
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Sew the New Hem
Use your preferred thread color and sew the pinned area to hold the new hem in place. Stitch it straight, and keep removing the pins as you go.
Guidelines For Hemming Different Styles
In case you are hemming different styles, read the below guidelines.
- Single Fold Hem: It involves turning the fabric once and stitching it in place.
- Double Fold Hem: This is more common than single fold hem as it helps enclose the fabric.
- Rolled Hem: This is mainly done on lightweight fabric like silk, and the fabric edge is not visible.
- Blind Hem: As the name suggests, it is almost invisible to the eyes.
Nothing can stop you from being a fashionista, and wear hemmed jeans to be all the more chic. The techniques mentioned above are pretty easy to use. Start following the process today, and note how easily you glide from one step to the next.
FAQs
The easiest way to hem jeans is by keeping the original hem. You check the length, fold the bottom, pin the hem, sew the hem, unfold it, and iron it.
You can hem your own jeans by marking the length till which you wish to hem, fold the bottom, pin it, and then sew the hem. Then unfold it, and iron it.
No, it is not that difficult to hem jeans. You can either do it using a sewing machine or by hand itself.
Long jeans can be hemmed by cutting as much as you wish and following the similar methods mentioned above.
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