Shortening the hem line of jeans

I read somewhere that good tailors know how to shorten a pair of pants while keeping the crisp hem intact. I have been wracking my brain trying to figure out how that was possible. Well, I must have had a dream about how to do it or something, because last week I woke up and thought to myself, "I think I know how they do it!" So, I tried it. And it worked! Here's how...

If you're vertically challenged like me, then this will be infinitely valuable.

First, fold up the bottoms of the leg opening to where you want them to be. Then, bring the rolled up section down as far as the hem is wide. (the jeans here have a 1/2 inch hem, so I moved my fold down a 1/2 inch.) *NOTE* all steps are done with jeans right side out.

Iron the fold.


Don't forget to use a stronger needle on your sewing machine so it doesn't break. This is what I used.

Sew just under the hem line. To get a straight line, sew on the inside of the leg opening as shown.


Depending on how much you are shortening, you can cut off the excess fabric. Shown here to the right of the stitch line.


Turn the leg opening down, exposing the hem. Iron.


Marvel at the shorter, but intact hem line! No one will ever know. Unless you tell them about your amazing seamstress skills.