Denim blue jeans come in different inseam lengths but even so they may not be the right length for you. You can go to a tailor shop and spend $10 to $20 to have them hemmed or you can save the money and do it yourself. It’s easiest and looks best if you can do it with a sewing machine. It can be done by hand but requires finger strength to get through the tough fabric.
Before you do any cutting, it is important to get an accurate measure of the length you want them to be. Always do the measurement when you are wearing a pair of shoes that you will likely wear with the jeans.
You can try to match the thread colour to the old seam of the jeans or just use a dark blue.
- Mark each leg at the length you want with a piece of chalk and fold them under and pin in place. Check the length in a full length mirror.
- Take them off and measure and mark a line 1 ½ inches below the desired hem line.
- Trim off the extra amount at the line you marked in step 2.
- Turn the blue jeans inside out.
- Turn on an iron to the cotton setting and fold the bottoms of the jeans up ¼ inch. Press with a hot iron to make a sharp fold.
- Measure and fold ¾ inch from the pressed edge and again press to make a sharp fold.
- Turn the jeans back to the right side and try them on again to make sure you have the correct length. Turn them inside out again before you start sewing.
- Set the tension and stitch length for heavy fabric according to the sewing machine’s instruction book.
- Slip the pressed edge of one leg over the sewing machine arm. Slowly stitch around the hem about ¼ inches from edge of the pressed seam. Work slowly when you reach the extra thick fabric of the side seams to avoid breaking the needle.
- Finish off by doing a reverse stitch to secure the threads of the hem.
The jeans can be stitched by hand if you have a strong needle and thread to get through the denim. Follow the same steps from 1 to 7 for preparing the hem and then just complete by hand using the backstitch which most closely resembles a machine stitch.
