Fitted Jeans galore

I had a pretty productive Thanksgiving break if I do say so myself. Aside from waiting 12 hours in an insane line to buy a tv, I also had time to fix all four of my pants that have been patiently waiting a hem job. I think the reason it took me so long to get around to it was that I couldn't find a technique that I liked and was confident in trying. My main concern was preserving the original hem. I mean, I shelled out big bucks for these (actually, not really, since they were all sample sale finds but you get the point) and I didn't want the flow of the jeans to be ruined by a bad hemming job. I ended up using a technique which I believe is referred to as an European hem that i found on Dacia Ray's blog which is something she found off of Cavaricci's website awhile ago. I think the end result is pretty good, there is definitely a slight fold as you can see in the picture but nohting noticeable from more than three inches away.

Here you see a shot of the outside hem and just look at how well the folded part of the hem aligns with the leg hem. Yay!



Here is a look at the inside. For some reason (maybe because these were from sample sales) I had to hem the jeans a lot. This pair was close to 4 inches!!! Three pairs of pants were hemmed for flat shoes wear and 1 pair was hemmed for heels. I used dark blue thread to match the jeans material. I also decided on a zipper foot in order to sew a straighter line and get as close to the original hem as possible. After, I ironed the suckers and then hemmed the fold to the leg to prevent the flaps from falling down.

I recommend this technique. There are other techniques that look pretty convincing too. I found one website (that i can no longer find) that recommends cutting the hem then removing the original hem stitches. Then you create a sort of bias tape with the hem that you just cut and reattach to the severed edge with jean colored thread. I think this could work too but I was too afraid to cut my jeans =/ Next time, when my sewing skills become more refined I just may try out this way though. For now, European hem is the way to go for me!