I’ve been trying to keep this a secret, but I think its time to confess: I am short. Being of the petite persuasion, I feel like I have spent a fortune getting my jeans hemmed. And the cost of getting my jeans hemmed has skyrocketed! Last time I got my jeans hemmed at the dry cleaners it was a ridiculous fourteen dollars! And that wasn’t even for keeping the original hem. Although that particular dry cleaner clearly charges an outrageous amount and is not interested in getting any repeat business, the average cost of original hem for me at more reasonable dry cleaners is a rather hefty ten dollars.
I am happy to report that I successfully hemmed my own jeans with the original hem. And it was actually pretty easy. I found a couple of blogs with tutorials to get me started: Dacia Ray and Denim Blog.
I didn’t actually follow the instructions to the letter. The length of my jeans doesn’t need to be measured… as long as they fit its fine!
I sewed on the inside close to the factory hem but not on it at all. This left the factory hem showing after the pants had been turned right side out, and a flap of extra fabric on the inside.
Confession: I left the fabric flap on the jeans for a couple of wears so I would be sure I was happy with the length.
Once I was sure the length was right, I cut off most of the extra fabric. I left enough on to keep it easy to work with on the sewing machine. This left two raw edges that I had to finish. Using an overcast stitch, I finished the edges. No the overcast stitch didn’t come out looking perfect… but it will hold! And if it doesn’t I can simply try again, since I no longer have to be afraid of hemming my own pants.
Please note: Unless you are my mother or my husband, I will not hem your pants for you.
