How To Hem A Pair of Jeans

All of you longtime readers are aware of the fact that I am vertically challenged. While I don't mind being short, it does pose a few challenges. One of which is my inability to find pants that are the proper length.

Pants that are labeled "petite" are always at least an inch too short. Those designed for the average woman are usually one to six inches too long. Some pants are so long it looks like I mistakenly tried on a pair intended for Shaquille O'Neal.

The only solution is to have all of my pants hemmed. While that sounds like a great idea, I suffer from a genetic defect that restricts my ability to pay for something that I could easily do myself. By easily, I mean completing the task without harming myself or others.

I am by no means a skilled seamstress. My "it's good enough" attitude gives the illusion that I have a wide range of talents. The reality is that I am a dabbler and I don't worry about doing things perfectly.

That said, I always insist on altering clothing myself. The majority of my pants get hemmed eventually, but there are those that are less fortunate and spend their entire lives dragging the ground.

© shoutingforha

Take my favorite old pair for instance. Years of walking around has reduced the back edge of my jeans to a frayed and tattered mess.

I know you are probably thinking that I should just throw these jeans away before the fashion police come and arrest me. Simply, I can't part with them... they are far too comfortable. I save them for special occasions like cleaning my house, doing yard work or fishing.

As I was reading another blog yesterday, I stumbled upon a link, which led to another link, which lead to yet another link... You get the idea. Before I knew it, I found myself at Barefoot in the Kitchen. I don't even remember what post I was reading, but I happened to notice a little button on the left side that said, "how to hem jeans in 3 easy steps."

I said to myself, "I have jeans that need to be hemmed in three easy steps." I immediately clicked on the button and realized that Barefoot Stephanie is a genius. She has single-handedly changed the way I hem pants. The process is so easy that, in the words of Geico, "A caveman could do it."

I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I hemmed four pairs of jeans in a half an hour. Four pairs. In thirty minutes. It was a hemming miracle.

© shoutingforha

If you follow the instructions on Stephanie's blog, you will notice that she opted to tack the extra fabric in place. Because my hem was several inches longer than the one pictured, I opted to cut off the excess and finish it with a zigzag stitch.

Behold the finished product...
 

© shoutingforha

I couldn't be happier with how my jeans turned out. I especially like how this method leaves the original hem and stitching intact, giving the pants a professionally altered appearance. No one can tell they were actually hemmed by a hack.