We found this fantastic article about hemming jeans with a professional finish in the Spring 2006 issue of Cutting Edge Magazine . We liked it so much we built a class for the Unique staff on sewing day based on this article. We hope you enjoy this great new technique for hemming your jeans!
Adapted from "Professional Jeans Hems" in Cutting Edge Magazine, Spring 2006
By Beverly Chapman, Education Coordinator
We’ve all been there. You know, at the sewing machine hemming up a pair of jeans. And while the finished product is good (you’re a bang-up topstitcher!), it doesn’t quite look like the hem that was there before. And when you wear them, do you feel that people point at your hems and talk behind their hands? If so, then why not give this method a try? It re–uses the original hem and keeps your newly–shortened jeans looking store bought!
1. Try on the jeans and determine where your shortened hem will finish. Mark this location on the inside of the pant leg. It’s a good idea to mark all the way around the pant leg.
2. At the hem there will be at least one seam that is either pressed open or not topstitched into a flat–felled seam. Usually this is the inseam, but not always. Rip out this seam at least 2” (5 cm) past the line of your finished hem. (See photo 1.)
3. Cut off the original hem 1/2” (1.25 cm) above the topstitching line. Then on this hem strip, rip out the topstitched hem. Set the fabric strip aside. (See photo 2.) NOTE: If you remove the topstitching carefully, you can save the thread, wind it by hand onto a bobbin. Use it later as the top thread in your machine when you re–attach the strip to the pant leg. This way, you will be sure that your thread matches perfectly.
4. Cut pant leg at the finished hem line that you marked in the first step. (‘What,’ you say? ‘But there’s no hem allowance!’ – Don’t worry, you’ll see.)
5. Pin the top (cut) edge of the hem strip to the pant leg with the right sides together, matching the flat–felled seams. If your pants were flared at the hem, then the hem strip will be longer than the new pant edge. You can cut this excess off. (See photo 3.)
6. Stitch very close to, but not on, the original topstitching line (about 1/16” (0.15 cm) away or less). This will make the hem seam slightly less than 1/2” (1.25 cm).
7. Press the hem seam toward the hem and re–sew the side seam, including the hem strip. Don’t forget to finish the side seam’s raw edge.
8. Fold the hem to the wrong side at the original hem line, encasing the hem seam and the previous hem fold, covering the stitching line.
9. Topstitch over the original topstitching line, using a thread and stitch length that matches those used on the rest of the jeans. If you were able to salvage the thread you removed from the original topstitching, you can use it here. (Photo 4 shows the finished hem, on the pant leg to the right side of the frame.)
Use a size 16 or 18 needle with a special jeans point.
To help remove bulk, smash that seam with a hammer, but be careful not to do this on your hardwood floors or any other surface you care about!