Alteration: My new favorite way to keep original hem on jeans

Posted on by RefashionMama

I am short. There is no other way to put it. I’m barely 5′ tall. I think I’ve only bought two pairs of used jeans in my life that were already hemmed to my length…ever…in my life!

My mom always hemmed my pants, even as I got older. Then, I started taking them in to a shop for alterations to keep the original hem which cost me $20/pair. I love how the original hem looks so I paid it. Well, recently I’ve tried a few different techniques and I’ve found one I really like. This is the tutorial I followed How to hem jeans

I started with a pair of new (used) jeans that fit great everywhere but in length.

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I measured and pinned the jeans to the length I wanted them.

I needed to take off 4″ from the hem so I measured just over 2″ and pinned, measuring before pinning each time. Do not include the original hem when measuring. You’ll need to decide how much you want to take off then divide it in half and pin all the way around.

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Now, sew very closely to the original hem, sewing to the right side of the hem. I reinforced this stitch and sewed around the hem twice because I wear jeans every day and need them durable.

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Next, I cut off the excess. You can choose to keep it, especially if you’re hemming children’s jeans who may later need the length. I haven’t grown since 7th grade so I opted to cut off the excess material.

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After, I ironed the hem to help it lay smoothly.

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And now i have a great pair of jeans that aren’t drowning my ankles in fabric.

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Optional: I prefer to do a top stitch right above the original hem to keep the bottom from rolling up after washing. This really does the trick (I’m way too busy/lazy to iron them each time) and this extra step keeps them flat. Make sure that you use thread that matches your jeans. I bought some jean thread that is heavy duty and matches really well; however, you do not actually need specialty thread, just make sure it matches and blends in.

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429 thoughts on “Alteration: My new favorite way to keep original hem on jeans”

    2. Thank you so much for this blog…. Now I can buy any type of jeans and hem them. I took a try at it today for something to wear for my anniversary dinner with my huby. They look great!!!

      1. in case you still need help ~ you have to move the fold to the “halfway” point of your hem. If you need a 4″ hem, move it to 2 “. After you sew it and flip it right side out, it will be the correct length.

      2. because it doubles if you need 4″ off you only fold it to 2″ because its a fold its double the length

    5. This worked BEAUTIFULLY on a pair of jeans that were going to be destoyed by my boots! Thank you for this tip!

    6. Absolutely loved this technique! Just hemmed 2 pair of jeans in no time! They look wonderfulnow I hope they stay that way after they’re washed.

    1. Heather, I use to pay $20/pair to keep the original hem. Now, I do this with all of my jeans and I love the outcome! They look just as great and it gives me an excuse to keep shopping 🙂

      1. Can’t wait to do this…I have 2 pair of uniform pants and my husband’s 3 pair of pants with this type of hem…Just got a new sewing machine for Christmas and am getting back into sewing…starting a pants and top for me but wanted to get this hemming done first. The instructional DVD that came with me machine didn’t go over the blindstitch that was mentioned …. if you ever do that kind of hemming, I would appreciate seeing it. I’m a visual learner so……… I loved these blogs that you did. Helped tremendously !

      2. I tried this & the hem ravelled & came off. I sewed them by hand instead of using a machine. Could this be why?

    1. Thank you, Kendra! Please feel free to follow me on Pinterest @ Sofie Love or on Twitter @Sajsc. I hope you’re able to hem your jeans this way 🙂

  5. oh my god, so easy!

    ive never even tried to look for a DIY tutorial before since i thought it would involve something complicated.

    thanks for this!

    1. Jess, I hope you give it a try and let me know how it works for you :). I seriously hem pants at least once/week and this technique is awesome. No one can tell its a DIY job and the original hem always looks great!

    1. Rita, thank you for the comment. Please let me know when you try it. Also, feel free to follow me on Pinterest @Sofie Love or Twitter @Sajsc.

    1. Liz, glad you found my blog. Please let know how it goes when you try this. I have hemmed all of my own jeans as well as my kids pants this way. Also, please feel free to follow me on Pinterest @Sofie Love or Twitter @Sajsc.

  8. sorry…I don’t sew and am a little slow! Tell me why you divide the overall length in half. Aren’t you just cutting 2″ off (in your example) instead of 4″? (It takes me a little while to ‘see’ things–maybe why I don’t really sew). THANKS.

    1. Hi Sherry, thanks for the question. Since the fabric is folded, you are cutting off 4″ total when you measure the 2″ to take off (you will see this after you hem and cut the fabric if you lay it out flat). If you were to actually cut the entire 4″ of folded fabric, you would be taking off 8″. I actually did this the other day when I was rushing trying to hem a pair of pants https://refashionmama.wordpress.com/2012/01/22/redo-adding-length-back-onto-pants-after-cutting/.

      1. Once folded, there are 2 inches of material on the under-side of the fold and 2 inches on the top-side of the fold, giving you four inches of fabric that will be cut off.

      2. Yeah umm just like Sherry I am also slow, I still don’t get it, but my husband who is also short has to hem his pants so maybe when he see’s this he will understand and can explain it to me. I dont sew, I mess everything up when I sew so I will just let my husband keep being the sewer!!!

      4. It seems kind of weird to me too–so I decided well I will do one leg that way and if it is still too long I can just shorten it more. Well lo and behold it worked! So I will not question the reasoning, just trust that it works 😉

  9. Genius!! I can’t wait to try this!
    I have at least 3 brand new pairs of jeans that I bought for the new school year that I haven’t gotten to wear because of this problem. (I don’t own heels high enough to cover it either).
    Can’t wait! 🙂

    1. Kaitlyn, I’m glad you found my blog then! You’re going to love this technique as it really is simple and doesn’t take much time to do. I’ve done this alteration at least a dozen times now and it only gets easier and quicker with each time. Please feel free to follow me on Pinterest @Sofie Love or Twitter @Sajsc.

  11. Sara, you only fold half of the length you want to remove because it’s folded in half. If you were to remove the full 4″ (or whatever measurement you need), you would end up with high waters…see my other post where I was rushing a pair of pants and did this https://refashionmama.wordpress.com/2012/01/22/redo-adding-length-back-onto-pants-after-cutting/. This is the only time I’ve screwed a pair up and they were really short! I was just so excited because I had taken in the waist of these pants successfully that I wanted to wear them right away and forgot to divide the length in half…ended up taking too many inches off :/

  12. I always have to shorten my husbands jeans and I dread it. I have seen this method before but didn’t understand it. Your version was very clear and simple. Thank you!
    Thank you!

    1. Cleone, I’m glad you found my blog then and that it’s clear to you. Please let me know how it turns out 🙂

  13. I’m So glad I seen this! I just bought 2 pair of jeans @ a resale shop the other day. They are really nice but way too long. I knew i could fix them so I went ahead & bought them. This sounds so much easier & much better results than I usually get. I will try this tomorrow. Sure hope mine turn out as good as yours!!! 🙂

    1. Sheila, I buy all of my jeans used and this little trick has saved me a ton! G’luck, let me know how they turn out!

  16. Really love this I have 3 kids and need to hem all the time but never really liked the way it looked without the original hem so i wouldnt do it gonna definetly try this with my girls pants from last year to make the capris or shorts they still fit in the waist but to short 🙂 Thank you so much gonna save me so much money 🙂

    1. Kara, I do this with my daughters clothes. Last summer, I made her 0-3 mos jeans into shorts because she’s thin but has really long legs 🙂

      1. I want to do this with my toddlers pants, turning them to shorts. My question is: The hem is smaller than the upper leg area, how do you get rid of the excess material?

  17. Thank you for sharing this. I don’t sew much. I understood most of it except the “top stitch” step. What did you mean by that? Whatever it is it makes sense because I would assume the hem would roll. But I don’t know what top stitching means. Thanks so much. 🙂

    1. Tara, thank you for visiting my blog. By top stitch, I mean sewing on the right side of the fabric (see the last picture in my post). This stitch is just a straight stitch and is not really seen unless inspecting up-close. It really does prevent the hem from rolling up though. Hope this helps!

  18. I have a question about hemming this way. If the bottom hem is wider than the leg further up, that you are attatching the hem to, how do you deal with that?

    1. Cheri, this is somethig I learned along the way so thanks for asking :). I should probably add a blurb on this in my post.

      The best way to solve this problem is to just resize the original hem. I demonstrate this in another post https://refashionmama.wordpress.com/2011/12/24/alteration-resizing-jeans-the-easy-way-from-a-29-down-to-a-2627/ so please refer there for pictures.

      First, you’ll want to fold your jeans up to measure how much to take off. Next, add a straight stitch right down one side of the hem. Once you make sure it’s the right width, cut off the excess and now follow my tutorial to keep the original hem 🙂

      1. I want to resize my jeans waist from 40 inch to 34 inches. Please can you post a tutorial with photos as hoe to do it.

  19. Absolutely fantastic, I have just bought a pair of jeans I am so going to try this, it is an amazing idea like you say to keep the original look of the jeans. Thank you, thank you

  22. Do you ever have jeans that fold at the bottom & no matter how many times you iron them they still flip back? I’m curious if this will do the same thing???

    1. Bailey, thanks for the question. This is the reason I do the top stitch once I’m done hemming. This prevents the hem from rolling back up.

  23. Is theresomething special about the machine you used? Is there a size needle you would recommend and thread type? Last time I tried to hem jeans on a machine, I broke the machine. . .very challenged when it comes to sewing machines.
    Thanks!

    1. Krissy, I have a Brother sewing machine but have done this using 3 different machines so it’s not the machine. However, I do recommend buying denim needles because they are more durable and will not break as easily as a universal sized needle. I also recommend denim thread but have done this more times without than with the specialty thread. I hope this helps.

  24. This is awesome! I just fall short, lol just short, of petite, so all of my pants are too long on me and I too paid $20 or more to have them hemmed. I would never try to hem jeans, I just thought it was too difficult, but this I am definitely going to try. Thanks so much for the awesome tutorial!

  26. We bought our daughter a sewing machine for Christmas and since she is a short little thing I just KNOW this will be her favorite hemming trick! Thanks for the great “how to” guide!

  27. If you are doing this for kids jeans and need to save the excess material to attach later, how would you attach the old material you cut off previously??? I have a very skinny daughter with LONG legs-needs a 9 month waist but a 3T in length and even if you buy adjustable waist pants I usually can’t pull the elastic in tight enough to make them fit! ARGH! If you can tell me how to do this I might can make it work for the future.

    1. Jennifer, when hemming jeans for children, I suggest leaving the excess fabric, folding and ironing it to keep it in place. You may also do a quick stitch to keep this excess fabric in place. This way, when your child grows, you can remove the hem and bring down the extra fabric.

      I do understand your situation because my daughter is very long and lean. Her waist fits 9-12 mos yet she needs larger pants because of length.

    1. Tiffany, it’ll work on any pants with an original hem. I have done this on corduroys and khakis. Thank you for asking…happy hemming!

  30. im a little lost. do you measure 4″ then pin, and then measure 2″ then pin again? why wouldnt you just measure the 2″ and pin. i understand you need to measure the 2 so that you are not cuttin goff 8 inches wen folded, but do you pin both at 2 and 4. im so confused. i hope you can understand what i mean.

    1. Nikki, I’m sorry if this got confusing. You only need to pin when you measure the second time since this is where you’ll be hemming. The first time you measure, you are just determining how many inches you need to take off. Does that make more sense?

      1. great, thank you so much! my daughter is a lil chunky monkey but when i buy her size pants they are super long. so this will help so much!! i love your stuff 🙂

  31. You are awesome!! Thanks for putting thornier there for other shorties.. I am short and have been looking for a easy way to hem jeans myself for many years. And finally!! Thank you

  32. I want to be added to pinterest, I’ve had a lot of people try to add me but it didn’t work…please add me

    1. Shawna, I will try to send you an invite with the email address you provided. Pinterest is AMAZING! May I ask how you found my blog?

    1. Roxann, yes that is how I ironed them flat. However, if you’re doing the top stitch, I have found that I do not necessarily need to iron.

  34. Thank you so much for this trick ! I have always avoided hemming my jeans (I am only 5’3″) and always end up folding them! Way cool. Cheers.

  35. I just saw this and it is 1:37am here in Jacksonvillle, Alabama……needless to say….I just called and woke my mom up because I was soooo excited about this! She has ALWAYS had to hem my jeans unless I was buying them specifically to wear with heels!!
    She sounded excited also…..LOL

    1. Haha, Jenny…thanks for sharing! Tell your mom I said sorry…jk. I’m glad you found my blog though. I hope you’re able to use this technique!

  37. This is a great idea!!! I just wish I knew how to sew to begin with. I am new to pinterest and in LOVE!!!! I can’t seem to get an invite though to join, I’ve just been browsing and your blog was one of my first to visit. Awesome!!! Thanks!

  38. Been sewing for um decades and have never seen this tip. Outstanding, thanks so much for sharing. My shorty Mum will be so excited lol.

  39. This is excellent! OMG, I hate hemming blue jeans as I used to cut and make a whole new hem..and my need always broke, because of the thickness! Thanks so much for sharing this!!

    1. Anna, I do suggest using a specialty denim needle especially over the really thick part to prevent breaking your needle.

  40. I’m a beginner sewer. I’m hesitant to try because I don’t want to ruin a pair of pants. Would you say this is simple enough for a beginner?

    1. Jenny, I’m pretty self taught and just started sewing again last year so I think it’s fairly easy. The most important thing to remember is to use a denim needle and not to cut until after you hem and try them on. Let me know how your jeans turn out!

      1. I went to Goodwill and bought a pair of capris for $1.50 to try this on. I am 4’11” and have to hem EVERYTHING, even petites. If I wreck them I’m not out much.

    1. Jenny, a top stitch is merely a stitch on the outside/right side of the fabric. Take a look at my last picture in the post – there’s a straight stitch just above the original hem. This isn’t crucial to the hem, however, it does make the hem stay down instead of rolling up in the wash.

  43. I have been sewing for years and have never seen this technique. Perfect for jeans. So time saving and basically all machine work. Wonderful!

    1. Melinda, you can cut it fairly close and when you do the top stitch, you are helping the loose ends lay flat. It may fray a little but if cut short enough, you will not be able to see this.

  46. I too love the original hem and have wondered what it takes to hem this way. Thanks soooo much… it’s soooo easy!!! I appreciate your post very much! I will surely be saving money by hemming my own jeans from now on!

    standing tall at 5’3″,
    J

  47. I’m 4′ 8″ so I can understand never purchasing pants that didn’t need to be hemmed. Except for Capri that usually just looked like high waters on me. So thank U thank u thank u! I can’t wait to try this!

  49. I am so excited to know that now I don’t have to spend as much to have my jeans hemmed as the jeans cost. I would imagine this is how the alterations people have been doing it. If not they should consider using your technique

  50. OMG, best idea ever!! I have to get ALL my s and pant s and jeans hemmed because I am 5’2 and it’s very difficult to find short. Even then it’s still too long. Thanks sooo much for sharing the idea, can’t wait to try.

    Thanks,
    Kim

  52. I have been doing jeans like this for years. I use clear thread which works great on any color denim. My question is how do you accomodate for a flair leg? I have to take off several inches and the original hem at the bottom is always wider than where I need the length to fall. I have tried several different techniques but nothing ever looks right. If you have any advice on this, that would be awesome!

      1. Thanks! I looked at the other blog on resizing jeans and I think I have it figured out. I think im going to resize some old Citizens of Humanity jeans that I have that are way big.

    2. Josie, will you resize by taking in from the inner or outer leg? I’ve done it both ways but just wondering :). Let me know how they turn out!

  53. This is the greatest idea! Saves so much time not having to pin, cut off and make your hem, iron and all that stuff. You don’t even have to turn the pants wrong side out! LOVE IT! I shortened 4 pairs of pants in about 45 minutes. Thank you for this wonderful new tip!

  55. Um, I feel kind of dumb but I’m kind of a hack sewer…what do you mean you top stitch around the hem to keep it from rolling up? Can you elaborate?

    1. Kris, a top stitch is just simply a straight stitch all along the right side of the fabric. For this, you stitch the fabric just above the original hem. This little trick will help the fabric to lay flat and not roll when washed.

  56. Great idea! After you turn it back over, do you find that the original hem looks too thick since it is sort of “on top” of the jeans or is it not noticeable?

    1. Lindsay, it honestly doesn’t seem any thicker than a normal original hem. No one has ever asked why my hem looks different so I’m pretty sure it looks as great as I think it does.

  62. Wow!!! This is fabulous!! I have to hem jeans for my son all the time and I just haven’t found a the right technique to get a professional looking hem….until now!!! Thank you so much for sharing this with all of us!

    1. Tracy, I’m glad this will help with hemming your sons pants! Now, no one will be able to tell they’ve been hemmed.

  63. GREAT method and demo! Two things to add: a few hits with a hammer (I keep a small one) on the thick inseam helps the needle go through easier and a zipper foot will allow you to follow the the edge of the original hem without having the foot on top of it. I lost count on the number of hemmings for my girls and my own 5’2″ self =)

    1. Linda, good point! A hammer would help flatten the thickest parts. I do use a denim needle so that it goes through easier and wont break.

  64. OH MY GOODNESS! I’m 5’4 and I’m in between regular and petite sizes. Petite are about 1-2 inches too short and regular are always a good 2.5 inches too long.

    I just used this technique to hem my new jeans and they are PERFECT for flats now! I’m so pumped! Thanks for the suggestion!!

  65. I am also 5 ft nothing and my mom has always hemmed my jeans. But her eyesight isn’t what it used to be and she lives an hour away, so I took my last pair to someone local and was not happy with the results. Man, I wish I could sew! Will you hem MY jeans? Would be easy, since we’re the same size and all… 😉 LOL

  67. This is a great idea for dress pants with a decorative hem, too. I have a pair pinned up and ready to sew, but was nervous about making it happen. Reading your tutorial made me feel more confident about it. Thanks! 🙂

  68. I understand the 2″/4″ deal, but why did you bother pinning at 4″ at all when you really only needed to pin at 2″? What am I missing here?

    1. You’re not missing a thing. The author is simply being conservative in not “losing” her initial measurements of 4″. For the rest of us, simply measuring 4″ but not pinning it at that initial measurement is good enough. I would only bothering pinning at the “final” measurement of 2″.

  69. Ha – I thought you were talking about me when you said barely 5′ tall and haven’t grown since 7th grade…. 🙂 thanks for the tutorial!

  73. Thank you so much for this much needed information!!! I am 5’1 & 3/4″. You know I have to add that 3/4 inch! So I feel your pain sista!
    Can’t wait to make all of my jeans look 100%better!

  75. I did this to all my jeans today and I feel like I have a new wardrobe! Thank you thank you for sharing! I love how they turned out.

  76. I have looked this up before, and found the same kind of technique but somehow your post makes it easier to understand, Thank You!

  77. Thank you ! Thank You ! I feel your pain I am barley 5 feet tall also I always have to cut off so much fabric when I hem up my pants.

  78. So Smart! I will be doing this TODAY! I always have a problem with jeans. They just do not come in the length I need. Tooooo long or just a tad too short. Thank you for sharing. After I do this I will reference you on my blog, and I already repinned you on Pinterest. Thanks Thanks Thanks.

  79. great post. I’m 5’4″ and have been using this approach for years. one thing I learned though is to flatten (pound) the ends of the inner and outer seams with a hammer. This makes it easier for the feed dog to pass over the seam. Depending on the material (e.g. thick denim) this can increase the density of the fabric making it hard for less robust thread to pass through. Wetting the fabric will help alleviate this problem. btw – this hemming approach can also be used with dress shirt sleeves.

  82. What an excellent idea! Very impressive. I use to do alterations for a living and never thought of this. I never liked hemming jeans because the hem you replace looks…….like a new hem! I feel like going out and buying some long jeans just so I can try this! Thanks!

  83. This was so easy to do! My daughter has moved into adult sizes but doesn’t quite have the height to go with it yet. So this morning (before school no less) I took 4″ off her new jeans. But left the fabric in case she hits a growth spurt.
    Thanks for taking the time to post this!

  85. omg! I have been sewing since I 4th grade (I’m 56 now) I too am short (5ft) always had same problem w/jeans. I just bought a pair of jeans and like the hem so much but knew I would have to cut it off. Now I but have to. Thank you so much. Love It!

  86. this is amazing but I’m confused on the part about top stitch right above the original hem to keep the bottom from rolling up after washing. Where do you put this? on top of the original hem would be a part of the jean that was not touched no?

  88. I have done something similar to this for a long time, but I cut first, zigzag all the edges to keep it from fraying, then sew it back on from the top. It works great, but you method seems easier. I would still recommend that you zigzag the edges so you don’t get fraying from underneath.

  89. Thank you for sharing. This would be an easier way for hemming pants into shorts. My kids grow in length before width. So they can usually wear the same waist size from winter through summer, but their jeans become too short and worn at the knee. I am looking forward to trying your technique soon.

  90. Very nice tutorial. I am a professional dressmaker & tailor and I’ve used this technique for customers with the very expensive designer jeans that have distressed hemlines. A few tips.
    This technique only works if the amount taken up is 3″ or less with a slight flare leg (6″ total initial measurement by your way). Carefully line up your seams and pound with a hammer. Use sharp denim needle. Adjust stitch length to 4 and slightly adjust tension for thickness of denim. Coats & Clark makes a great top stitching thread that is denim colored that works great and blends beautifully.
    Last trick for the ultimate professional look, I use wide bias binding to enclose the raw edges on the inside. One extra step, but no raveling. I found the denim too thick to serge but one could zigzag the edges like someone suggested.

  91. what settings do you use on the machine?? i havent used one in forever…and what exactly is top stitch?? are you just simply sowing the outside of the pant leg just above the hem line?? its not being sowed to anything?? sorry for the questions i just want to get it right i too hate ironing 🙂

  92. Thank you for posting this! I was able to hem jeans for my daughter so she could have “normal” looking jeans with the “correct” hem! She is so happy! Thank you Thank you Thank you!

  94. Wonderful Idea. Thanks for sharing. I will use this when I hem my grandson’s jeans.
    Sew much easier than what I was doing.

  98. Genius! I have an entire bin of “need to be hemmed” jeans & slacks. I can handle this technique.

    5’0″ … Stopped growing in the 8th grade

    Connie

  100. I just got a new pair of jeans at Kohls. . . they were super awesome. . BELL BOTTOMS!!! (I’m so sick of skinny jeans fyi) So I get them home and something is wrong. . . the right leg of the jeans is longer than the left!! I wiggle, push and pull. . . try on different shoes. . . raise my arms up and down. . . take the jeans off and on aagain. . . . STILL the one leg looks longer. . . I lay them down flat on the table and my suspicions are indeed confirmed. . . It’s exactly 1 inch longer on the right leg than the left leg. I immediatley though of your tutorial I found on pinterest. Thank you so much. . this truly is genius!!!! I would hate to lose the beautiful wide cuff on these jeans. .
    Just wanted to tell you how awesome I thought you were because of this!!!!!!!!

  101. Ditto, ditto, ditto, what they said bout your awesomeness! I am also short like you and have given away really nice fitting jean that I would usually tape up only to have them fall as I danced, lol! Whoo hoo! I am going to buy a little sewing machine just for hemming all my jeans! Yay, take a bow sista!

  102. Amazing Tutorial! Now I could do it myself! I need to start learning how to sew first though. lol. By the way, I am also a blogger and I’ll be featuring you on my blog today. I’ll be linking the post to facebook later at 10:00am. I hope you don’t mind if I used your pictures!

    Head over to http://charmedbysweets.blogspot.com to check it out. It’s going live right now! I also followed your blog and I will be following you on Pinterest! 🙂

    May
    Charmed by Sweets

  103. Thank you so much for this amazing tutorial. I just finished up my jeans, and they are SO much better. I probably could have taken another inch but I went on the cautious side and did four inches. Loving that I didn’t have to spend more on my jeans that were already more then I normally do!!!!

  104. Omg! Why didn’t we think of this when I was in high school!!! I just did it and it was so simple and quick! My kids were determined that I had to have some MEK levis. I bought them months ago and haven’t worn them because they needed to be hemmed! This was the best idea! I just have a question about the part you cut off. Do you need to zig zag the demim edge so it won’t fray when you wash them? I am so grateful for this! Thank you from a short mom!!!

  105. I used this on a pair of jeans for my husband, and it worked GREAT!! Thank you so much!
    Do you think it would work on a pair of denim capris that are too long and look more like crop pants? I think I am going to try it!

  106. DUH? I feel so stupid..You are my new hero…I am 5′ 3″ and can NEVER find jeans to fit lengthwise. How many jeans, although fitting good elsewhere have I begrudgingly put back on the rack because they were too long? Genius of the day award …. goes to YOU…Thanks for sharing …God Bless You..

  109. This is a great idea and I’m going to also try it on a skirt I recently bought. It has a border around the edge in a different color and I was DREADING pulling that whole border off and putting it back on again.

  111. THANK YOU!! My 7 y/o has Down syndrome and I am constantly chopping 6-8″ off any pants I buy for him. This will make it so much easier!

  113. Thank you Thank you! I also am VERY short,4’101/2″. I’ve recently seen another way to “hem” with keeping the original hem. But I must say….your system ROCKS!
    Again, thank you.

  115. I have just recently started sewing and am still trying to learn the lingo..what exactly is a top stitch and do most machines have a setting for this?
    Thanks!

  116. Great tip! Thanks for sharing. Kind of makes me say to myself why didn’t I think of that, lol. I pinned it for future reference but wanted to leave a comment here too because I read an article yesterday about people not leaving comments on blogs as much now that Pinterest is really getting popular. But if it wasn’t for pinning I probably wouldn’t find half the blogs I’m finding with it! Thanks again 🙂

  117. Wow, this is brilliant! I too am a shortie and I’ve also been paying $20 a pair to have my jeans altered while keeping the original hem. It gets so expensive and really negates a good deal when you have to tack $20 on top! I’ve been studying my tailored jeans and wondered how they did this. I was going to give it a whirl, but what I like best about your tutorial is that you are not attempting to sew two different pieces back together, just folding, stitching and trimming. Did I say Brilliant?! 🙂

  119. SHEAR JEANOUS!!! (pun intended!:)Thank you! Thank you! A GAZILLION times THANK YOU!!!! I have the hardest time finding jeans to fit my girls who both under 5 ft tall. I hesitate to cut them off and take them in because every time I’ve tried it the bottom hem has looked horrible! This will make it SOOOOO much easier to fit them!!!!

  121. This is great! Thanks for saving me tons of money! Do you have any tips for dress pants which have a different sort of hem?

  123. I love this tip! Thanks! I’m also 5″ and always have issues with pants being too log. Any tips on measuring pants? I’m always afraid to cut them too short.

  128. THANK YOU!!! I found a too good to pass up deal today on a pair of jeans that are longs. I’m not short, but I certainly can’t wear longs. I knew I had seen your post so I knew I could buy my $6 Eddie Bauer jeans that fit like a dream and all would be well. Thanks a million!!!

  129. Very clever! As a sewer I can appreciate what you have done. I think I’ll try it on my hubby’s jeans. Going to bed now. I’ve been up sewing a Kindle cover case. 3:30 – time for bed 🙂

  130. This is great! And perfect for my daughter who is skinny but tall…I can cut them off and still have room to grow.

    I have wanted many pairs of fitted jeans but just haven’t bought them bc of the length.

  131. Saw this on Pinterest and 10 minutes later I was pulling jeans and dress pants out of the closet to try this…It is amazing!! I am so excited to actually be able to wear these pants! THANKS SO MUCH!!!!!

  133. This is my very first time on Pinterest and this tip alone is worth it!!! I have been wishing for just this thing. Thanks so much for sharing!

  134. Thank you soooo much for this great tutorial!! I just spent my afternoon hemming 7 yep 7 pairs of pants and capris.. As I also am only just 5″ jean shopping just got much much easier!!!

  135. Hello,
    I am so glad I found this. I have been wanting to do this to some of my granddaughters jeans.
    Sounds fairly simple, but a little confused as to how you got from the 4″ to 2″.
    Thank you for sharing and your help.

  136. I am on the short side and have never found pants/jeans to fit in length even petites are to long. I definitely will use this tip and if you have short legs like me I’ll give you a tip I discovered by accident a couple of winters ago. I desperately needed a pair of black pants to wear for an appointment and went to several stores trying to find a pair I didn’t have to hem since I was out of town and nowhere near a sewing machine:) I found a pair of real nice black pants on a Clearence rack, I tryed them on and it was a perfect fit in length. I looked them over really well thinking its winter, they are black slacks, there has to be a reason they are on clearance, right? They were Capri’s!! I now look for them first and have found a whole new wardrobe of jeans/pants. Best of all, no hemming:)

  137. Love this. Both my daughter and I are short. Very frustrating when you are to tall for petites but too short for regular! I definitely try this.

  138. I used this technique to hem my daughter’s new jeans, and a pair of pants for myself. On both, I cut off the excess fabric. My daughter’s jeans FRAYED very badly after the first wash, so I had to re-do the hem. My pants have been fine, and still are after many washes. If I had it to do again, I would put zig-zag stitching along the raw edge after I cut the excess off.

  139. Wow. I almost never comment online, but this is something so life changing for me, that I just had to thank you. I’ve been avoiding buying nice quality jeans for years because I didn’t know how to hem them without it looking weird or obvious. THANK YOU!

    1. Julia, thank you so much for the comment! I hope you use this technique and enjoy buying/wearing some good designer jeans again! I practically live in jeans 🙂

  140. What a fantastic way to hem: I’m short too and have been sewing forever, but I never thought of this: Thanks for sharing!!!!

  142. What a great idea how come no one thought of it before..lol my sis is short and always gets me to take her jeans/trousers up wish Id know about this before! Brillant!
    I use an air pen to mark rather than pins when taking up will give this a go next time thank you for sharing.
    Jilly

  143. It is amazing someone hadn’t thought of this before. What a Super idea for us short people.
    Thanks for sharing Tera

  144. As with everyone else, I wanna say “Thank you” for a great tutorial. I’m so thrilled with this method, I just want to kiss you.

  147. Thank you soo much for this tutorial! Just self taught myself to sew and this was the first thing I tried (after a couple trial runs, didn’t want to ruin my fav pair of jeans). Thanks again!

  148. I had the same problem minus taking my pants to alterations, haha I guess Im a bit cheap. I only bought certain name brands. Normally I would just buy two of the same pair of “close enough” jeans. I’m so glad I found your SUPER amazing fix. A great way to fix my jean problem, due to being vertically challenged. Thanks for sharing.

  150. I sew professionally, you did use a short cut, does it fray after you do this?
    I only charge $8 to do an original hem, using the match thread,

  154. It looks like you like your pants the same way I prefer them…. Not above the ankles. Every time I pick them up after alternations and paying $20, I put them on and they are above my ankles, so I end up undoing it, and most of the time they haven’t cleaned up the seam (I guess that bottom part would be). I find them to be at least an inch too short! Thank you for this tip and I will be doing this! No more owing just 3-4 pairs of pants due to the annoyance of hemming 🙂

  156. Thank you for sharing this. A friend asked me to hem his overalls and I really hate hemming things but he fixed my birdbath for me so I owe him! This will make the job easy!!!!!

  158. I used to do alterations for the Buckle. This is exactly the way they teach to do original hem alterations! Super easy and so glad you put this out here to save all our vertically challenged friends $20/pair alterations costs!!

  160. Wow! What a FANTASTIC idea! Thank you so much for this, I have a small pile of slacks that I need to do this to.

  162. Wow, cool!! I’m short, too – 5’1′, so I can totally relate!! I don’t even try to get the right length anymore when I buy pants. I’ve been sewing forever, but it never occurred to me to alter the length this way — great idea, and thank you so much for sharing 🙂 I love it!

  163. Thank you! I too am not quite 5′ and I hate the way my jeans always have that pants hem look. Definitely going to do this next time I buy jeans!

  164. I LITERALLY was going to take my 5’2″ 16 year old TODAY to get her jeans hemmed FINALLY after years of her just rolling them…Thanks for the financial rescue!!

  165. My husband’s pants are all too long. (still wondering why we buy that length…;-) He’s excited to have me hem everything. I, on the other hand, practically get hives just looking at a sewing machine, so I am excited to see if I can do this. And then I’m going to see if I can order the next pair of pants in the right length! 🙂

    A friend of mine bought a denim skirt and the “hem” is actually an un-stitched hem made to look distressed. Understand? Very cute, but too long unless she always wears heels with it. Is there any way to use this method to keep the un-stitched hem look yet shorten the skirt?

    Thanks! Great tutorial!

    1. Darla, if I’m picturing the skirt correctly, this method should work for her skirt as well. I have used it on different types of pants as well as sleeves, so a skirt should work 🙂

  166. Thank you SO much for this tutorial! I’ve had a stack of jeans in my closet that I was waiting for the day when I’d have the time and money to take them in to get hemmed. I think my biggest fear was that I’d spend the money and then get back my jeans with an ugly hem and then they’d be unrepairable.
    I tried this last night with a pair of jeans that I like, but are not my favorites (in case I goofed up) and they turned out great! I proceeded to hem 4 more pairs of jeans! I now have a “new jean wardrobe”! Thank you , thank you, thank you!!!
    Rockin’ my new jeans,
    Karmen

  167. I am so happy I found this tutorial! I have to hem my hubby’s jeans today and was worried he wouldn’t like the outcome. He usually pays to have it done or my Mum does it for us. I just started doing our own (Mum bought me a sewing machine…you think that was a hint or something LOL!!!) and I am always a little worried about messing up. Thanks again!!

  169. Pinned, thanks so much! I too spend a fortune getting my jeans hemmed since my mama moved 6 hours away. I barely top 5ft myself. This is awesome!

  170. GREAT idea! LOVE it! Do you use any kind of seam finish when you hem the pants? I know denim will ravel. Also, when you take in the legs of the jeans do you cut the excess seam allowance off or just leave it? If you do trim it down, do you use a seam finish? Thanks! Betsy

  171. My 16-yr-old is 4’10” and done growing. She will love that I found this so I can hem all her clothes like a pro!

  172. I came across your blog through pintrest, and I must say. I am SOOO glad that I did because like you, I’m barely 5′ and I HATE shopping for jeans because I’m so short! Now, I no longer have any excuses! (:
    Thanks for posting this! You’re awesome!

  173. I wish I had found this before my significant other DESTROYED the hem on his jeans from it getting caught under the back side of his shoes. >_< Next time though, this shall be done before he wears them! Thank you! 🙂

  175. I love this idea. I am short and all jeans are to long. I pay enough for good fitting Jean and they are always to long.

  176. Ahhhh!! This is great!
    I have the “pooling” effect at my ankles with all my pants…this alteration I can handle!!
    I will no longer have gaping holes on the back hems of my pants. (:

  179. Thank you so much for sharing this! I just hemmed a pair of new jeans. It took 10 minutes tops! They look awesome:) So simple and quick to do!

  180. This is also a GREAT way to turn those long jeans that have holes in the knees into cute shorts for the following summer. No more ugly cut offs that fray.

  183. OMG I wish I had sewing skills I’m 4’10” . Jeans never fit even kids ones because I have a generous booty. I love this idea though. I’m repinning on pinterest

  185. I have sewn for 50 yrs or more.. and dreaded doing jean hems because of the huge seam you have to sew over.. can’t imagine how many needles I’ve broken because of this…thanks soooooooooooo much!!!

  187. Soo glad I found this tutorial!!! I have to hem some new school clothes for my daughter and was not looking forward to it but your method with make it a snap!

  188. Wow what a great idea! I wish I would of seen this 2 weeks ago when I attempted to hem some jeans! 😦 They didn’t turn out so good! I will remember this though! Thanks for taking the time to share!!

  189. I did this with my grandsons new jeans and they ended up too short. I had him try them on and pinned them for the length needed but when all said and done, cut excess off they were tooooooo short. What did I do wrong?

  191. Wow, thanks! Great tutorial that’s easy to follow. I’m another petite person who has trouble finding jeans that I can wear with flats.

  193. I have always had issues with trying to find petite jeans that fit, and now I don’t have to worry about the length. Even when I had them professionally hemmed I hated how they curled up when washed.
    I just hemmed my first pair and I am so happy with the results!
    Thank You so much!

  196. I am so excited to find this tip ! I have to Hem everything and I always much preferred the the way the original hem looked……now I can have it look like they came in my length 🙂 Thanks !

  197. I just finished a pair of my jeans and they look GREAT!! Now for my next pair! I also added a step after cutting off the extra. I zig-zagged the cut edge so they wouldn’t fray out. Thank you so much for the EASY alteration with great explanation and photos of each step! : )

  198. My son just called & said he brought home 3 new pairs of EMT uniform pants. They need hemming. Guess what I’m going to try? Thanks!

  201. This is brilliant! I just hemmed two pairs of jeans for my daughter and they turned out perfect! And soooo easy! thank you so much for sharing this!

  202. My daughter found this tutorial and sent it to me, then she preceded to order 2 pairs of ‘short’ jeans from Hollister (on sale). When she came home from college this weekend, we practiced with an older pair of jeans, then progressed to the new ones. I was a “doubting Thomas”, but this method works so good and the hem looks so nice! I also used the zigzag stitching on the cut ends so there wouldn’t be as much fraying, and I used clear thread because the 2 pairs were different colors of denim and I didn’t want to change out thread/bobbins switching between the two. Thank you for solving a big problem in our household!! 🙂

  205. Just have to comment to say THANKS for taking the time to post this to the interwebs… I tried to hem my daughter’s jeans last fall and it was so hard and confusing–I did two pair and that was it! So this fall I googled and found your post and thought I would try again and your technique was so simple!!! I don’t know what I was doing last year but I did 4 pair this morning in no time. AND… being able to leave the excess for next year when she stretches out is priceless!!!

  206. Thanks for your post and this very resourceful way to hem jeans. The problem I am having is that the thickness of the original hem will not fit under my presser foot. Anyone else have this problem and what do you do about it?

  207. Thank you so much for your post!!! I’m 5′ 4″ on a good day, and a very curvy too. So all my jeans look like gigantic bell bottoms that fit horribly. I’m so excited to do this to my jeans!

  208. I get so lazy hemming my jeans (pants in general) that they sit in my closet for ages before I actually get to them. I love your method…makes it sound so much quicker to hem. Thanks for sharing with us:D

  209. I just did this tonight and while it does involved a little more work than the hem I used to do (cutting off excess and folding it under/inside to hem it, it looks SO much better! This way no one will know they were hemmed! I also cut-off the excess material and did a zig-zag stitch to keep it from fraying. Thanks so much for the tutorial! I can’t wait to buy more jeans to do this again! 🙂

  210. WOW! That is awesome! I did have to it tear out the first time because I sewed it to the wrong side…remember it’s opposite of how you usually pin. This works great. So much faster than trying to make it look original. Thank you Thank you!!!

  211. I don’t usually leave comments, but I just wanted to share that I found this tutorial on pinterest and followed to do my first sewing project EVER!! I taught myself how to use a borrowed sewing machine and hemmed 2 pairs of pants all on my own. Then in true pinterest form, used the scrap fabric to make a headband…hahaha! THANKS A BUNCH!!

  212. wow I a 4’11” and this is so great.. Hate to hem pants by cutting off the bottom and re hemming… I did see where some persons were doing this with childrens jeans a tip I learned a long time ago is that white vinegar will take out previous hem lines. I use a cotton cloth and dip it in vinegar , wring it out and place on old hem line , then I press the old hem and vinegar cloth and usually the line comes right out.. You may have some fading maybe you could add rick rack or some trim if these are girls jeans. It’s worth the try.

  213. Thank you, Thank you! I have a closet full of pants I have been too lazy to hem using the long version! I cant wait to get to them!

  214. I’m don’t do much sewing, but thought I would try this out on a new pair of jeans I have instead of going to the alterations shop. Wow! I will not be taking any more jeans in to be hemmed. I can’t believe the alteration shops charge a premium price to do this! Thanks!

    1. Linda, I’m glad you liked my tutorial and that you found it simple enough to do! I haven’t taken any pants to get alterations since I discovered this little trick 🙂

  215. Tried this today and it works wonders… LOved it thanks for sharing. will defnitely keep doint it.

  218. I was surprised at how easy this was! My only concern is that after I washed my jeans they frayed and then the hem started coming away from the pant leg. How do you get around taht problem?

  219. I FINALLY tried this today and I must say it is the most awesome idea EVER! It worked beautifully! Thanks soooooooooooo much for the tip! Ingenious!!

  220. Hadn’t taken my jeans to the seamstress yet because i had pinned this…you just saved me $40 in a matter of minutes! thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! hem looks great!

  222. thanks heaps abought to hem my new work pants and dam only 5foot as well, I always put off the hemming jobs now I will look forward to it instead. love your blog cheers

  224. My son’s friend was here for the weekend with new jeans that fit in the waist but are way too long (he bought them himself). I had saved this site recently and went to it. Shortened his jeans to the correct length in no time. Impressive and easy technique. Thank you!

    1. Helen, that is awesome! So glad you saved my tutorial and were able to use it. I bet your sons friend loves his newly hemmed jeans!

  225. I used this method today on my son’s jeans and it worked so well! The only issue I had was with the outside seams being a little off. So, I had to make sure I pulled everything tight, and ironed everything flat…that seemed to help.

  227. I too am short, always have to pay for hemming!! Today, I hemmed two pair of jeans and love the results!! Thank you for great information!!

  228. This is how I do my hems. I do alterations for a living. I was told it’s name was the California Hem. I tack in four places so the hem will not roll up after washing. It’s easy and a money maker. I get $10.00 a pair.

  229. Makes perfect sense!!!! Totally going to give it a shot!!! I’m assuming this method will work the same in skirts too! Got a stack of jeans of my husbands that I need to shorten but it was always a big job for it to not look any better then it did! thanks!!!

  230. Love it. Who would of thought. I dreaded hemming jean’s. I broke quite a few needles trying to make manufactured hem’s. Thank’s.

  231. I found this while trying to find a quick & easy way to hem my son’s jeans. FANTASTIC I MUST SAY!!!! I hemmed a pair today and it turned out great….thanks for the images & step by step on how you did this. I don’t sew a whole lot but this will come in handy for sure.

  233. You are my pants hero!!! Just did 3 pairs in under an hour – pinning and measuring included – and I am by no means a seamstress! Thank you thank you thank you!

  234. Just tried this yesterday and it is amazing!!! I have now shortened every pair of jeans in the house 🙂 thank you!!!

  236. Hi, i just found your blog and decided to try this on a favorite pair of jeans that are crazy long on me. i did just one leg and didnt cut until after i tried it on. I have a problem now… my inseam of the pants turns out and twists on my leg and its not comfy. any ideas on what the heck happened???

    1. You may have had your sewing machine adjusted for a lighter weight fabric. sometimes one side pulls more than the other – I think it’s usually the top that stretches more while sewing. Pinning before sewing and then pulling a bit tight while sewing may help too. If you happen to have a “walking foot”, you could use it to make sure it doesn’t twist. A walking foot is used in quilting to keep both sides even. It “walks” over the seam without pulling.

  237. Hey, I found this post on pinterest and I’m SO glad I did! I just hemmed my jeans and they look amazing! I can hardly even tell they’ve been hemmed, and I know what I’m looking for! I showed my husband when I had done one leg, and he’s like, “How did you do that? I can’t even tell a difference between the [undone and completed] legs!” Plus I’m a beginner sewer, and this was a great project. Thanks soooo much!

  240. Just found this via Pinterest. You have literally just saved at least 5 pairs of jeans I own but don’t wear because they’re just too long. You, madam, are my new crafty superhero. Thanks so much for sharing your technique!

  241. This may sound strange, but what if the very bottom circumference of the leg opening differs from where the new hem will be placed? i.e., a flare leg or a skinny leg opening will be different than the place of the hem – especially if you were taking it up four inches! Does this trick work ONLY on straight leg?

  245. Wow! I’ve never been great with a sewing machine but I just did this to a pair of jeans I got for Christmas and it turned out GREAT! So excited to do this to my kids jeans! Thank you thank you!

  246. Ive tried this on my son’s jeans and it came out great. My issue is that the part that I cut keeps fraying. I have to keep cutting the long frayed pieces. How do I prevent that?? Thank you

  250. THANK YOU!! I was just quoted $50 to have my new jeans taken up with the original hem method. I just followed your simple instructions and they look brilliant. Now to do all the other long legged pants in my wardrobe 🙂

  251. This is an excellent method – never saw it before – I have been doing the other way for over 50 years! One more tip: for the top-stitching on a worn pair of jeans, gray thread will match better than blue! Or did I miss that tip? I didn’t read them all.

  252. Oh my gosh you have changed my life forever! I am 4 foot 11 and sometimes even petite sized jeans are still too long! I bought 3 pair of like new jeans in my favorite brand and size at a thrift store, except they were way too long. I couldn’t pass them up for the price and I had pinned this Pinterest a long time ago and was too scared to try, and with that in my mind I bought the jeans and just finished hemming them! Easy as anything! Thank you so much for the wonderful tutorial!

  253. OMG – I love you for this post! This is so great and I cannot wait to try this for some of my hubby’s pants; he is 5’3″ and we NEVER find him pants that fit right and taking them into a seamstress to get that look is just too expensive all of the time!!!!

  254. I have the opposite problem but can still use your suggestion =] I am tall and in the Spring and Summer I like to wear jean capri’s…it’s very hard to find capri’s long enough so I usually buy jeans in a ‘short’ length to get the hem to fall at the right spot. Now I can use your great idea to shorten any jean to be the perfect capri! =]
    thanks…your pics look great =]

  255. Super! This is wonderful. I don’t sew by machine, though. I’ve done all my hemming and mending by hand. Can you do this by hand?

  256. Thank you very much for this tip.
    It turned out much better than I thought it would. I did it for the ease, and it was very easy, I did not expect such a good result.
    I did stitch the cut edge with the matching thread, it made it lay much flatter, and I can’t imagine someone getting so close that they would notice it.
    Thanks again.
    Susan

  257. This is awesome. The ONLY problem I have is that the original hem flips up after each wash so I need to iron them… really hard to do with 2 kids.

  258. I am so grateful to you for this post. I am a tall woman but my 2nd daughter of three has not gotten her growth spurt yet and so we have had to start hemming her jeans when she started Kindergarten. My mother-in-law did it for us first but I was not happy without the original hem so when I got my sewing machine and then found your post..it has been a blessing. My daughter looks great. Thank you so much for posting this.

  259. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!! I am 72 yrs old and still wear jeans almost every day. Mine ALWAYS have to be hemmed. I wish I had learned your brilliant trick about 60 years ago! You go girl !!

  262. AWESOME!! I am very frugal and have been sewing myself some new shirts for this upcoming summer. I found this on Pinterest and now have some new capri jeans! I had some jeans that were too short for me so I just shortened them some more!! Love this. Took about 5 minutes to do a pair.

  264. You sure have impressed a lot of us oldsters! I’ve been sewing for over 45 years and this is probably my top sewing tip EVER! I’m always learning something useful from you dear young ones. Thank you

  265. I just started sewing, and wanted to hem my jeans, and I think this will be super easy to do, however, I don’t understand what “top stitching above the original hem” means. can you give me a bit more information about what top stitching is? THANKS!

  266. I just found your post on Pinterest. I just started sewing and can’t wait to try this. Thanks!!! 🙂

  267. I am not great with a sewing machine but I am great with the hem tape. Have you ever tried your technique with hem tape? Is so, what were your results?

  268. Thanks for this!! At 4’11” I have never bought a pair of jeans that I could wear without altering in some way. I’ve tried other original hem tutorials, but this by far, is the easiest to do. BTW, I was quoted $50 for a professional original hem. Thanks again!!

  270. Omg… either I’m not smart enough to understand this or you are a genius… You cut off excessive lengths and unfold the original hem to iron? Ugh…I’m lost :S

  271. Great idea, thanks for the step by step instructions, one question, do I have to use a needle esp designed for jeans or can I use a reg needle. I am not an expert sewer.

  273. Thanks for this. I used to be 4’11” but now barely over 4’10” due to age. I think I have purchased jeans 1 or 2 times off the rack in my life. I will try it.

  274. I gotta say I am so glad to find this idea because you just gave me the perfect idea for my son’s jeans and mine. neither one of us are ever gonna grow any taller.

  275. I just found this on pinterest, and I’m so happy, even though i’m average height 5,5 my pants still drag on the ground ewww!!! This has definitely come in handy. I don’t have a sewing machine, so i will be doing this by hand!!! Thanks so much!!

  276. When you top stitch, are the cut edges pressed to the top or bottom (inside)? Could you place a photo of the inside of the hem after you top stitch… Might help to clear up some confusion… Thanks! And truly fantastic!

  277. This worked perfectly! You can even do it by hand if you are careful, and if the length isn’t right, take it out and re-do it because you didn’t have to cut the fabric FIRST! Thanks!

  279. I’m 4’11 and I love this idea! I can never find jeans the correct length. I usually just cut them off and hem them or run a zig zag stich around edge to keep the fraying down. Thanks for putting this on the web with great pictures.

  280. Genius! I hate shopping for jeans for that very reason. Always having to do alterations…. Thank you! I am ready to face jeans now!!!does this work with other pants too.

  281. You are my savior! I am 4’10” and have literally never had a pair of jeans fit right. I just did this on a new pair of skinny jeans and it turned out PERFECT! I never have to be afraid to buy jeans again.

  282. Has anyone tried this on pants other than jeans? I have some yoga pants that I just purchased and are a bit long.

  286. Hello! I just would like to offer you a big thumbs up for your great information you have got right here on this post. I’ll be coming back to your blog for more soon.

  287. I’ve used this tip several times since I first found it on Pinterest. Just wanted to say thank you for such an excellent tutorial.

  288. I want to try this soon. I can see using a zipper foot attachment to be able to sew closer to the original hem would be helpful.

  289. I just followed your tutorial to hem some jeans for my husband. It was to easy! It took about 10 minutes to do both legs. (only because I measured, measured and measured again) He has others I need to hem and now I won’t procrastinate getting them done.

    Now I know there is no other way to hem jeans now. Thank you for posting this tutorial. You are so awesome to share!

  290. I love it! Saw this on Pinterest. I sold my old sewing machine but now I want to get a new one. I will definitely be doing this for my pants and my 3 kids’ pants.

    Elle
    “All work and no play makes mommy a disgruntled chick.”

  291. Yay, these instructions are great! I just hemmed a pair of jeans that were much too long and now they’re great. After I trimmed the extra fabric, I serged the cut edge to keep it from fraying, and I’m super pleased with the results. Thanks for sharing 🙂

  293. I just hemmed three pairs of jeans using this method last night. OMG, fantastic. I’ll never hem jeans the old way again! THANK YOU. 🙂

  294. Thank you for this post, I’ve always just put up with having overly long pants as hemming them looks silly. My jeans look awesome! Thanks again great post!

  295. Thank you for such an excellent tutorial. I am a seamstress and 90% of my business is hemming jeans! I wish i found this years ago. What a time saver. I will visit this site more often. Thanks again.

  297. I’d seen this before and just tried it with a pair of old jeans. Then I decided to google to be sure I did it right! Thanks for the info on the topstitching and cutting off extra fabric. Other tutorials don’t mention either. It works great, but measuring really is key. I just cut off 3 inches (guessing) and didn’t notice a difference in length! I guess I’m a bit shorter than I realized. 🙂

  298. I did this recently. I’d had a pair of Levi’s in my closet that were too long. My inseam is 29 1/2″, a weird size. I did this in about 30 minutes and these are now my very favorite jeans. I did the extra seam to keep them from rolling it’s it’s great. Thanks for this.

  299. Oh, this is a wonderful tutorial. I can’t wait to try it on my jean skirts. I always prefer the original hemline so this way to alter sounds like a perfect solution! Thanks for sharing.

  300. I tried this today for back to school jeans. I will never do it any other way and it was so easy to get a more professional look. thank you

  302. Tried this today on husbands jeans worked fantastic. Next time I will use Denim needles as I had some trouble getting over the big seams in jeans. Thank you for your great tutorial.

  303. I just finished hemming a pair of jeans I’ve had for a while and thought I’d have to give away. Your instructions were fantastic and it worked perfectly! I’m so happy I found your tutorial. From one short girl to another…Thank You!

  305. I used to be 4’11” but since I am in my 60’s and gravity is not my best friend I am now 4’9″+fraction. I will try this technique next time I have to hem jeans. BTW I bought dress pants at Macy’s in petite/short and they fit right off the rack. That doesn’t happen very often! I sew a lot – mostly quilting but also some clothing.

  306. I tried this on a pair of white, boot cut cords that I had been dying to wear but they were too long. At the moment, I have about 8 pairs of cool designer jeans in my closet that I can’t wear because they are way too long (my sister gives me all her leftovers:). I can’t wait to have time to sew these pants! My cords look awesome!! BTW, I am new at sewing. I got a new sewing machine last Christmas and had a few lessons, but this is one thing that I could do on my own!! Thank-you so much for the outstanding tutorial and pics!!

  311. Thanks so much for this because I am forever going into stores looking for Petites and let’s face it, it’s far a few between to find them. Now I will be able to go in and find my size and just hem. My little girl has the same thing and Now I will be able to get her the cool jeans that doesn’t “drown her ankles” as you say. Thanks for posting.

  313. You are a life-saver! I am going to do all my skinny jeans this week using this tutorial! Last week I did a pair of pants and messed up because I thought I remembered exactly what you did and never double checked before doing it myself. I ended up cutting my jeans first before hemming them, which then made me have to so much more work! But this week, I am going to do it right and remember how easy you have made it for us! Thanks so much and have a great week!
    Easy Outfits, by Pip

  314. I just tried hemming some jeans the way you explained it and I’m getting a ridge,
    is the normal? From your photos I’m not seeing a ridge on your jeans. Did I do something wrong?
    Thanks,
    Anna

  315. I’m not short, but my daughter is like you 5′ maybe 1/2″ and she needs so many of her pants hemmed. Now, I know exactly how with this great tutorial. thanks!

  316. This is a great tutorial, thank you so much! However, when I hem up my pants, I turn them inside out, so silly me realized I had them inside out after I already sewed along the hem….. -_- Lesson learned!

  318. Oh goodness but this is genius! I’ll admit I was skeptical at first but went ahead and tried it. I’m sold! I just shortened a pair of jeans for my daughter (they’d been in her closet for two years, waiting for a trick like this) AND I then shortened a pair of Zella yoga pants using this GENIUS idea. Yoga pants, the upscale ones at least, always have that nice overlock hem. I don’t have an overlock and a twin needle always causes that bump. Now, I have shorter yoga pants AND my daughter is thrilled with her ‘new’ jeans! Thanks so for sharing (and being so crafty!)

  319. I told my mother-in-law about this last weekend when we were hemming my daughter’s curtains. It looked professional, and We had enough leftover material for me to make a 16 inch envelope pillow from the leftover of one curtain. That was something else I had wanted to try. Both projects were really easy, and I don’t sew often.

  320. Does this work for skinny jeans? I got to the point where I am ready to sew…but the hem won’t fit around my machine… 🙀

  321. Oh my gosh-please disregard my last question. I just found out I can remove the accessory box. 😬😳

  324. I can’t thank you enough for this tutorial. I am short and always have problems with pants and jeans. Just applied this method to hemming jeans and it worked perfectly.

    And thank you for taking the time to show good step by step pictures.

    Heather

  326. What do you mean by doing a top stitch right above the original hem? Doesn’t that happen when you sew to the right of the hem on the underside or is it a separate step? Thanks!

  327. I have had this pinned for over a year and finally tried it. I love it! It is so easy and my jeans look amazing!!

  328. Best tip ever! Thanks, thanks, thanks! I just tried it with my jeans and I love it! Muchas gracias 🙂

  329. Hi! I’m wondering if you needed to finish your cut edges w n overlocker or zigzag to prevent from fraying? Thanks for this tutorial. Out of all the tutorials I saw on Pinterest about hemming jeans, I’m going your way. 🙂

  331. Wow I like how u did that, but I don’t have a sewing machine…would u like to mine for me, lol? Do u have another way to do it if u don’t have a sewing machine?

  332. I have recently brought out my sewing machine again and have been looking for a great project. I can’t wait to try this out. I have these really cool jeans that I have been folding under. Now I won’t have to! Super stoked!

  335. I do believe you just saved some of my hubby’s work pants that have gotten the hems ruined by being slightly too long and constantly getting caught under his heels.
    Also, you saved me the agony of finding the right pair of pants for my kids. Thank you for taking the time to share this with all of us!

  336. WOW…all these years I have dreaded the “jean hem”…never mind all the machine needles I broke…lol Thank-you so much!

  337. Reblogged this on Refashion_ Become Unique and commented:
    Genius! I really love this. It`s quite helpful. A little alteration can upgrade an item’s fashion rating no end. I do know there are a lot of people will throw away their pants because of the length. I think all of us should pick up the lost art of sewing. Creating can alter our mood, Let`s refashion!

  339. I had pinned this awhile ago but just now got a new pair of jeans and got around to hemming them…worked great and I love that they have the original hem! Thanks so much for the idea! We short girls have to stick together! 😉

  341. Finally did this on two pairs of jeans I’ve had sitting in my closet for two years because I ordered “tall” by accident. Worked like a charm! : )

  342. I don’t have a sewing machine but I did this by hand and it worked great! Thanks so much for the tutorial. The pictures made it super-easy to understand and now I will have no problem with those extra-long jeans!!

  343. Love this idea – will give it a try. So hard to hem jeans with my basic machine when the thickness ends up too much for it. This should fix that problem too 🙂

  344. Thank you so much I just hemmed 2 pairs of pants in less then an hour. So easy and looks good. They are the same length too. For some reason when ever I hem pants one leg is always shorter. Thank you thank you thank you

  345. My husband is 5ft 3 and we can NEVER find jeans to fit him in length. He trashes jeans at work so we buy several pairs a year costing about $40 each. We then pay $14 per pair to have them altered. I just got another sewing machine that is heavy duty so no more paying to have them altered thanks to you dear! Thank you so much!

  346. This has been a life saver for me being 5ft most jeans I have are a lot longer on me I have tried this several times now Love it!!

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