Hemming Jeans Tutorial

Last spring a friend of mine asked me to hem some jeans for her son. It instantly brought back memories from when I was a child. I am pretty short and my jeans were always too long. The one time my grandmother hemmed my jeans, I felt like a total nerd. They were so ugly. I searched online to find tutorials for hemming jeans. I found tons of them. However, the problem with all of them is that the way the original hem is sewn on, it flips up and needs to be ironed all the time. So, this time, she asked me to just do a normal hem. But, I was determined to find a way that would look good and not need any maintenance. Here is what I came up with.

1. once you have pinned the appropriate length, fold the extra length inside the pant leg.

Then fold the original hem just beyond the new length as shown below.



2. Line the new length close, but not over, the original stitches. Start sewing as close to the edge as possible. Refer to the photo below. I went around this stitch 3 times.


3. Fold the extra length out.

Now trim this excess off, leaving about a 1/4 in.


4. Run a zig zag stitch around the raw edge (or use a serger if you are lucky enough to have one).


5. Run a strait stitch up the two side seams of the pants just to tack down your new hem.


When you are finished, this is what it should look like. It is not noticeable when the jeans are on and no ironing is needed. The best part, no nerdy hem on the bottom!