DIY: Make Jeans into Shorts Using the Original Hem

2:54 PM


How about we use THIS tutorial, that my sister wrote, and make our kids' old holy jeans into new shorts!  I am all about saving a little money.  Might as well right?


I LOVE the look of using the original hem....  check out THIS tutorial to Hem Jeans Fast Easy.  It is the same principle, you just hem them up above the holes in the knees, or wherever you want the shorts to hit.  You will have a lot more fabric to trim off in the end, but the result is the same.

 I love my sister, and thank her for this inspiration to make my little dude these shorts!!!!  Thanks Steph!  You are da' bomb!





My little dude feels like he has new clothes!  It is the best!  He is running around happily in his "new" shorts and I am loving how they look and how fast and easy it was to make them!


Have fun saving money, and making your kiddos happy!

-Megan




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Sisters Meg and Steph discovered that while living the life of poor, newlywed, college students, with fresh little babies in the middle of The Great Recession they could still have what they needed and wanted if they got to work and created things with their own hands. This mindset has saved them thousands of dollars in living expenses, and as they share their knowledge with others, the savings keeps growing.

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14 comments

  1. Nancy @ Neatly-PackagedNovember 21, 2013 at 12:16 AM

    SO Cute!! Love this! :)

    neatly-packaged.blogspot.com

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  2. Casilda AtanasioNovember 21, 2013 at 10:07 AM

    Excellent ideas. I would like to know how to tighten jean pant legs, I have a few that are lose legged and would like them to fit snuggly.

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  3. Casilda AtanasioNovember 21, 2013 at 10:10 AM

    Excellent ideas. If you know how to tighten lose jean pant legs I would really appreciate that. Have a few good jeans but the legs are too lose. Thank you.

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    1. UnknownJanuary 12, 2014 at 7:00 PM

      you would have to "drape" them is the term used...u have to sew past the seam on outer side of the jeans...like maybe start with 1" or so..go back for larger if u have to...when satisfied u can cut off some of it so it won't bulge on the sides...press the seam flat before turning garment on right side...this is done mostly from under the waist to the knee..slimming down seam as u go...

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    2. chevyJanuary 21, 2014 at 6:00 AM

      Hi there, just thought i would let you know how i use to take my jeans in when they were a little bit lose; Turn the jeans inside out, now put them on inside out (i know this will sound silly) and on backwards so that the zipper is at the back, then pin the inner (if it is a single seam or the outer if that is the single seam) take them off and sew them up. The reason i put them on back to front is because one leg is always bigger than the other, when you turn them in the right way they should fit nicely.

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  4. mcdrmbldrNovember 21, 2013 at 3:04 PM

    This is a great idea, but I was wondering how you get around the diameter of the hem at the bottom of the jean being smaller than the diameter of the jean leg so far up by the knee? This works great with pants, but with shorts, it is so far up that you end up "scrunching" the material in order to sew it. Any ideas?

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    Replies
    1. do it yourself divasNovember 21, 2013 at 9:37 PM

      At this point they need to be straight leg jeans in order for this to work. We are currently working on a post about taking in the actual pant leg to make it fit perfectly. Thanks for your comment!

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    2. Y.B. NormalJanuary 13, 2014 at 11:08 AM

      Most jeans have one seam that is not top stitched. urn the shorts inside out.Take a ruler and a pen and mark a line that tapers from the point where you need to take in the opening to a point on the original seam so it fades into it stitch on that line. Same for taking in the legs on jeans.Trim the seam allowance to 1/2" or so. the key is to fade into the original seam so it doesn't make a funny bump on the outside.Then iron flat! You can also zigzag the edge of the seam to keep it from raveling. it help to have a size 14 needle to go through the material easier.

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  5. GrammyANovember 26, 2013 at 5:12 PM

    mcdrmbldr asked the question I was wondering about, so I hope I remember to come back to look for the answer!!

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  6. suzanneJanuary 31, 2014 at 2:34 AM

    That is so smart. My daughter can't stand it if her shorts aren't a certain length and neat. It will be so easy now that she can choose the length and have the original hem on them. Thank you.

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  7. Mommy & Daddy VFebruary 2, 2014 at 8:11 AM

    Cannot understand why you do not just make a new rolled hem! Probably take twice as long, ten minutes instead of five, but you wind up with a job that is as good as new without an additional seam to open up after a few washings. You also would not have to worry about any leg taper either.
    Try it on an old pair first. Its not brain surgery, just some stitching.....

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    Replies
    1. the Glad HatterJune 10, 2014 at 9:51 AM

      I am not able ot match the color of the topstitch most of the time. Plus my machine could not handle the multiple layers of jeans. And the manufacturer does a much better job of a neatly finished edge than I have ever been able to do.

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  8. UnknownJune 3, 2014 at 4:28 AM

    Thanks so much for sharing. We have short people in family. Never thought of this. Love it, again thanks

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  9. YayaJune 10, 2014 at 10:30 PM

    Also the original hem has faded put areas whereas if you roll a new hem not just looks homemade unproffesional. Girls pay hundreds of dollars for jeans and they want them as close to original as before

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