How to Take up Jeans' Hems Step by Step
It is quite annoying when jeans are ruined because they are too long and we tread on them. But alas! There is a solution! Bringing up the hemline prolongs the use life of your clothes.
You will need a couple of tools for this tutorial. You will need a ruler, scissors, tailor's chalk and thread, as well as an iron and sewing machine. Once you have these items, pay close attention to this OneHowTo article as we take you step by step through the process of taking up jeans' hems.
Steps to follow:
Once you have all the materials you will want to mark the jeans to know to what point shorten them. It is easier to do this part if you have someone to help you. The owner of the jeans should put them on and combine them with the shoes that will be most commonly worn with them.
Turn the excess fabric until the trouser are at the desired length.
Mark on the back of the denim fabric using the chalk. Use the ruler and measure the height from the floor to where the chalk mark is.
Roll the other jeans' leg and mark at the same measurement. This method is mandatory to check the difference between legs. Most people have one leg that is longer than the other, depending on how you stand, the shape of your physique or in cases of surgical interventions.
Now both legs are marked, align the jeans' seams on a flat surface.
You have to make the chalk mark bigger and darker, so it is easier to see.
Align the marks and place one denim trouser leg over the other. Position the ruler placing the chalk mark on the right side of it.
Keep the ruler firmly down in place and make a chalk marking in a continuous line along the ruler.
Keep the ruler held with your left hand and use your right hand to lift the upper leg. Use the chalk to mark along the back of the upper denim and the upper part of the lower leg.
Again, hold the ruler with your left hand and turn the lower leg to mark the bottom of it. When you are done you should have a solid line around both legs.
The continuous line that you just made is where will the final hem will go. Now you need to mark additional fabric to roll to make the hemline. The second line will be a fold line and the third line will be where the excess denim is cut. Most jeans hems are ½ inch or 13 millimetres. But if you like a deeper hem you can make it up to 1 inch or 2.5 centimetres.
Once you have measured the lines you should mark them clearly. When you are done it should look like this. Cut the last line. When looking at the jeans from in front the lines should be perfectly straight.
You are now ready to start sewing. Prepare your machine with thread. For this demonstration a heavyweight denim thread is used. Depending on your machine, you may have to use a lighter weight. If that is the case look for golden thread that closely resembles the thread used in the rest of the jeans. Once everything is ready, practice on one of the pieces of denim you cut so you can get the best thread tension and the correct stitch length.
When you are ready to begin with the real work, you should start with the inner leg. Wrap the fabric once to the fold line and again to the hemline. Arrange the fabric in the machine and lower the needle. You may have to turn the wheel on the side of the sewing machine by hand to place a few stitches in this thickness. Continue sewing following the chalk marks. Use the measurement markings on the sewing machine to help keep a straight line.
As you arrive at the starting point sewn over the initial stitches to create a continuous line. Again, you may have to turn the wheel by hand to get through the thickest part. Once you have completed sewing all the way around, cut the thread and sew the other leg. Then it is time to steam and iron the hem.
Image step by step
Image step by step
Image step by step
Image step by step
Image step by step
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