Aurora Sisneros presents new techniques for hemming your jeans. Learn helpful tricks to sewing through thick parts in the jeans and find out how beneficial it can be to have a friend available to speed up the process. Use these awesome tips when you are hemming your own jeans.
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Love love what you doing. I’m learning so much. Oh thank you so much. Oh yea on the jeans why didn’t you use orange three?
Very creative hemming! And the last piece of advice.. lol! Kick ‘em! Love it!
If you take your Jean’s on a hard surface a hammer them with a regular hammer on the seams they will go through your machine e with no problem
Love the advise to “Just Kick-em” if they are that close. LOL
Ticket 21579 How do i sew bell bottom stretch jeans?
Dear Kelli,
Thank you for your patience. In response to your question-
Here are several tutorials and patterns for that:
https://helloglow.co/diy-bell-bottom-jeans/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq0nNI0bXbE
Cheers,
Ashley
National Sewing Circle Video Membership
You don’t have to have another person to pin them in the way she showed. Just cuff them up (fold so the extra fabric is on the outside of the leg) and then pin them yourself to the correct length. Take the jeans off and measure the height of the cuff. Now fold them the way she showed, using your measurement divided by two. So if you need the jeans to be two inches shorter, the cuff would be one inch when measured from the edge of the hem (the place where you will sew) to the fold. Basically you are first measuring the total amount to be hemmed, then divide that by two and cuff it the same way she did but use the number you calculated to be the amount in the folded area that is the flap that you fold up (or cut off if you prefer). The measurement is explained well in this video:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4d4CCD_8ebw
Also, use thread that matches you jeans color, not white thread unless your jeans are white.
And you can use a Jean‑a‑ma‑jig to help sew easily over the hump of the seam. Use a larger gauge needle to make sewing the heavy fabric and thick layers easier to sew and you will be less likely to break the needle.
Responding to Sydney, She is showing the correct way to hem this when measured correctly it works, my customers would tell you so. And yes this is best done on a straight leg but with a little manipulation it can usually work on a flare leg.
Thank you for the technique. But, there is such a thing as a “hump jumper”. I use one all of the time to hem jeans. It fools your machine into thinking its sewing over a level surface.
This only seems to work on straight leg jeans if they flare the old hem is wider than what you’re sewing it to. Use a hump jumper or a thick piece of cardboard under the back of the foot to get past the hump. Use a safety pin to mark the hem so you don’t get poked taking them off.
Use a hammer and block of wood to pound thick seam to a thinner thickness.
That’s not exactly how the jeans hemming works. Doing it that way will result in jeans being too short.
Have a few issues with this as a sewing professional. The first is; for this type of hem you USE MATCHING THREAD! Contrasting thread will show, yes even from a distance when stress is on it. And leaving side seams not stitched? Not only will it rip out, but those gold threads will really show. Denim/Jeans needles of good quality, recommended by your machine manufacturer or a dealership will make it easier. Marise as far as your business goes, Decide just how far you want to go, eventually someone will want a custom garment. Have your price list of what you will sew made up. The are some good books available on how to price. Don’t undervalue your work; don’t sew for less than you need to pay your bills. If you charge for your work, you are a pro. Always do your very best, customers will expect no less.
Forgot to mention, the machine was moving around during the demo. I use a piece of the soft, waffle like ‘shelf liner’. Usually get it at the dollar store.
A better tip for going over the seams would be the use of a shim, either a hump jumper or a piece of fabric behind the needle under the foot to level the foot from the back. Also, if you use a larger size (90/14 or 100/16) jeans needle would help most machines penetrate those thick fabrics.
Great. Wish I had a pair of jeans to shorten right now. Will remember this advice for my mending business that I’m setting. Got any advice for me on the mending front? Marise