I basically live in jeans, but I also have a pile that I never seem to wear. I decided to go through them and find ones that had a great fit at the waist and butt, but that I avoided wearing due to the leg cut or length. I found two pairs that seemed perfect for my go at upcycling my own jean shorts.
Step One: Decide on the length you want, measure, cut and then serge along the hem (this is the lazy part- if you don't have a serger you'll have to do the good old double-fold and iron for your conventional machine).
I decided that I wanted these shorts to be about mid-thigh, coming about 6 inches above the knee. The lighter colored pair I cut and serged at an 8" inseam, and the dark wash jeans I cut and serged at a 7" inseam. Adjust to make yours shorter if desired.
Step Two: Turn jeans inside out, and iron a 1" hem.
Step Three: Stich decorative hem. I decided to do a double stitch using my double needle for the thinner, light colored jeans, and a single stitch for the heavy, dark wash pair, both sewn with my conventional machine. I used Jeans Topstitching thread to compliment the threads used in the original manufacturing.
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| Use the lines on your needle plate as a guide for a straight hem (I did 1" on both pairs). |
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| What the stitching looks like on the inside. Voila! The perfect casual jean shorts that aren't showing off my butt cheeks and don't have the folded over edge like every pair made in stores nowadays! Next: Upcycling khakis and making some super cute short shorts :) |
