Hemming Jeans - A Sewing Tutorial Test Run

Soooo, I return from a glorious week at the beach to this note from my sister-in-law and a brand new pair of jeans.

 Here in Georgia we would then add, "Well, bless her heart."

I really dislike hemming pants, but I especially dislike hemming jeans.  My sister-in-law, like me, has short legs.  In addition to my other sister-in-laws(6) and mother-in-law (1).  Sooo, I guess you could say I get plenty of hemming business.  (Say it together now, "Well, bless your heart.")

The thing I hate about hemming jeans is that you can tell they have been hemmed!  I have several different methods and thread types, but I cannot duplicate that factory look. 

Anyway, one day just sittin' around looking at a few of my favorite blogs, I run across this tutorial:

Cool! So I tried it!  And you wanna know something?  I am pretty pleased with the result!  I have a few details to add so if your jeans wearer is not with you, you still know how to adjust the measurements.

So here are the original jeans.  Marked so sweetly with a pin.

 So I first measured the distance from the bottom of the hem to the marked length.  As you can see, the length to remove is 3.25 inches. (Yes, I do convert to decimal and no I am not european.  It is just easier to plug into my calculator that way.)

 Next, I measure the length of the current hem.  Please take note of my cool note-taking ability.  Anyway, I think it measured .75 inches.

 Subtract the two numbers.  Ta Dah!

 Continue following the tutorial from step #3.  So I divided my 2.5inches by 2 and got 1.25 inches.  1.25inches is the measurement I used to pin the jeans.

 Keep following the tutorial.  Using a zipper foot will make your life a lot easier by the way so don't ignore that instruction. 

So the one change I made.  On the inside of the leg, I simply tacked the fold to the jeans.  Just a couple of rounds...nothing major.  Tie a knot and cut.  There ya go!

 Not bad, huh?  I have dropped them off at my sister-in-law's house.  I informed her of a new technique and for her to give me some feedback.  My only concern is the extra bulk of fabric at the bottom.  If it is an issue, I will go back and simple cut the fold out and serge the edges to prevent fraying. 

Thank you so much for your attention class!  You can find this well-written and illustrated tutorial at  Sew Much Ado.  Thank you Abby for allowing me to use your information!