Now that I’ve taken up and hemmed at least 4 pairs of jeans, I feel confident enough to post a tutorial to help other people out with it! It’s really easy once you know what you’re doing, and there’s no way you’ll pay anyone to do it for you again! You will need the following items:

• Jeans, trousers, or whatever else you want to take up/hem
• Scissors
• Thread
• A measuring tape
• Hemming tape (optional)
• Pins
• A sewing machine (or needle if you prefer to hand sew
• An iron

So! Without further ado, let’s get on with the tutorial.

First of all, grab your jeans, and put them on. I highly, highly recommend washing them first, to see how much they shrink. Once you’ve put them on, you’ll need to fold up the hem and pin it so your jeans are at your desired length. It’s really helpful to get someone to do this for you – I use my husband. Standing on a chair is good, too, so they can have better access to the bottom of your jeans. It’s also a good idea to wear the shoes you’ll probably wear most with your jeans. I’m not wearing any shoes here because I’m lazy 😛

Now, take off your jeans, and measure the length of the upturned hem. Mine was 7.5 inches. Yes, I’m very short. Now, I like to leave 1.5 inches for making the new hem of the jeans, so I would cut 5.5 inches off the bottom of the jeans. You can have a smaller or larger hem, it’s up to you, just remember to allow that extra fabric to make your hem when you cut your jeans. I usually mark my cutting line in tailor’s chalk, because I’m terrible at cutting in a straight line.

Now, cut your jeans! Remember the old saying, measure twice, cut once. Trust me on this. You really want to make sure you’re only cutting off what you measured, or else you’re going to have very cold ankles!

Now, fold up the new bottom of your jeans about an inch, and press. If you choose to use hemming tape, this will make the process slightly easier. Make sure it’s even all the way around. Then, fold up another inch and press again. At this point, I like to try the jeans on again just to triple check they’re the right length. If you press the hem enough, you should be able to try them on without it falling down.

Now, take to the sewing machine! I use thread to match the jeans, but if you’re certain of your ability to sew in a straight line, you could use contrasting thread for a different look. Sew at the top of the hem, not the bottom, to make it neater and more secure. Sew all the way around, backstitching at the start and finish.

Voila! You should now have a pair of nicely-hemmed, perfect length jeans! I hope this tutorial was easy enough to understand, and that some of you found it useful 🙂