Three ways to gently hem jeans - handle even without a sewing machine

If you find jeans that suit you in everything except length, this is not a reason to refuse to buy. The product can always be shortened, even if you do not have a sewing machine. There are at least three different ways to gently hem jeans at home.

How to hem jeans without a machine

In order to hem jeans without a sewing machine, you need to prepare the following tools in advance:

• threads in tone of hemmed fabric;
• needle;
• scissors;
• ruler;
• tailor pins;
• tailor's chalk.

Before shortening your pants, consider two points:

• Legs should not be too short, otherwise, when a person sits down, the ankle will be exposed very much, which will greatly spoil the view.
• Legs should not be too long, otherwise a large fold will form in their front part. At the same time, the back of the jeans will get dirty and even tear.

Now you can proceed to shorten your pants:

1. Wear jeans and the shoes with which they will most often be worn. Pull the legs out and secure the bottom with pins.
2. Put the chalk inside the crease and make a mark. It will indicate the final length of the product.
3. Remove the pins and twist the legs back. Make one more mark - 1.5–2 cm below the first one. Carefully mark the length so that both legs are symmetrical.
4. Trim the edges of the pants to the lower marks.
5. Tighten the legs inward to the upper mark and fix the product with pins.
6. Insert the thread into the needle. Try not to cut a long thread, this will only complicate the hemming process.
7. Make a slight extra hem on the inside so that the cropped edge is hidden inside the main hem.
8. Hem both legs.

Now we’ll take a closer look at the best way to hem pants so that they look as neat as possible. To do this, use a seam called “back needle” or “backstitch”. It imitates a machine line and is quite durable. Making it very simple:

1. Pass the needle and thread through the fabric from the inside out onto the face.
2. Count back (that is, to the right side) about half a centimeter and again pass the needle through the fabric so that it is on the other side.
3. Now count forward 1 centimeter (to the left) and pass the needle through the fabric.
4. Pass the needle through the fabric again, introducing it this time next to the first stitch so that they form a single line.
5. Continue to move forward (that is, to the left side) until you have sewn the necessary section.

When using the “back needle” seam, it should be borne in mind that it imitates a machine line only from the front side. From the inside, the stitches will go one after the other and for beginners, tailors may not look very neat. Therefore, stitch jeans only on the front side, after having previously outlined the place of the seam with tailor pins or chalk.

How to hem jeans without cutting them

You will need:

• threads in tone of hemmed fabric;
• needle;
• scissors;
• ruler;
• tailor pins;
• tailor's chalk;
• iron.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Put on jeans and mark the length by which you want to shorten them.
2. Tighten each leg without cutting it out and secure with tailor pins.
3. When turning, make sure that the stepping seam exactly matches itself on the top of the legs.
4. Sew the legs directly under the lower factory seam - so that your threads "hide" under it.
5. Wrap the resulting fold inward and iron the product with an iron.

For sewing jeans in this way, a back needle seam is also suitable. But you will need to make another seam on the inside of the leg so that when putting on the product the leg does not fall into the “pocket” that has been formed inside. To do this, gently sew the crease with the “blind seam”. You need to do this like this:

1. To start, iron the pants and prepare the thread with a needle.
2. Insert the needle into the edge of the crease formed inside the leg after hemming.
3. After that, grab a little tissue (1–2 mm) in the other part of the leg, inserting the needle exactly opposite the place where you entered it in the crease for the first time.
4. Now you need to grab a small section of the fold again, exactly opposite the place where the needle came out of the trouser leg.

Making a seam in this way, you gently pull the resulting fold inside the leg to her. When jeans are worn, the leg will not cling to anything inside them.

How to hem jeans while maintaining a factory seam

This method is more complicated than the previous two, as you must be able to make durable and neat hand seams if you are going to hem jeans by hand. If you have a sewing machine, the process will be greatly simplified.

For work you will need:

• threads in tone of hemmed fabric;
• needle;
• sewing machine;
• scissors;
• ruler;
• tailor pins;
• tailor's chalk;
• iron.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Use the chalk and ruler to mark the length you want to crop.
2. Carefully cut off the bottom of both legs of the factory seam, leaving a small margin of 2 centimeters on top of it.
3. Check that both legs match in length and cut the jeans to the mark made earlier.
4. Gently attach the cut factory seam to the trimmed edge of the jeans with tailor pins.
5. Insert the thread into the needle and gently sweep the connected parts of the jeans.
6. Sew the resulting seam on a typewriter.
7. Cut all the threads protruding from the inside of the legs.
8. Iron the bottom of the jeans so that the remaining edge near the seam is facing down.

If you don’t have a typewriter, hem the jeans with the back needle stitch.

As you can see, there are many ways to shorten jeans with your own hands, even if you don’t have a sewing machine. To do everything correctly and beautifully, it is enough to have a needle, thread and a little skill. But if you are hemming a thing yourself for the first time, you should not be scared. The options offered above will be mastered even by a beginner.