How to Hem Jeans (by Hand) | Keep the Original Hem | Easy Hemming Tutorial | Sewing for Beginners

[@elizangiaraujo1304]

Hi! Can I just say, as someone who is 5'1 and struggles with the length of her jeans, this tutorial was EXTREMELY helpful! Especially during quarantine, so thank you so much

[@RokoleeDIY]

Excellent :D I'm glad it was helpful!

[@carlasmith8883]

¹¹³

[@bzylady03olson79]

I'm with you...at 5', even the petite sizes are too long! This, my Mom taught me years ago, and I forgot how to do it, and here I am!!!

[@Chelleyshall]

I never thought I would say this, but I am so excited to hem my jeans now! My mom keeps saying she’ll do it for me and I’m like, “Naw, I got this!”

[@RokoleeDIY]

Ha :D I hope your repair goes well!

[@AlanaChuong]

I love the energy and enthusiasm in your comment!!❤️ You’ve got this!: ) Happy sewing! 😊🪡 🧵

[@setr4593]

I was so glad to find this great video. I am 5'3" and had have to hem almost every pair of pants I've every owned. I was able to use your method to keep the original hem stitching on my new jeans. They turned out great. You tips for measuring saved me lots of time and frustration. I used my sewing machine and serger, but the end result was the same. Thank you so much!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Excellent! Glad it was helpful :)

[@jelenalunadavid]

The best and easiest way so far. Actually learned a lot about sewing through this tutorial. Thank you!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Excellent :) Thanks for watching :)

[@izzieg1029]

Fantastic tutorial thanks so much, literally googled how to do this, watched the video and hemmed my jeans within 90mins. So pleased and so grateful!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Awesome! Glad it helped you :)

[@ameristar]

Thank you for this! So useful. A lot of tutorials I find for hemming jeans involve equipment I can’t afford and don’t know how to use. Your videos are very valuable and I hope you can continue to make more!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thanks very much :D I intend to do so!

[@michellestratford9753]

Oh my god, you're a life saver! My mother, who has always run the sewing machine since my Grandmother passed, has gone almost completely blind. I have no idea how to work a sewing machine and new jeans that are 6 inches too long! So, thank you!!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Glad I could help! Thanks for watching :)

[@tattoosbysaoirsewells5204]

Over the course of a new months I thrifted about 15 pairs of pants with the intention of getting them professionally altered but didn’t realize how expensive professional alterations are so I’m glad I found this video! Can’t wait to get started ☺️

[@RokoleeDIY]

Good luck! Thanks for watching :)

[@juliabott8025]

This tutorial just saved me! I got jeans second hand and really need them to be the right length tomorrow, a few hours of carefully sewing and they look perfect now! No cuffing needed! The legs were a good 6 inches too long, I'm glad this works for any length 😊

[@RokoleeDIY]

Excellent! Glad the video helped you :)

[@wilfojac9643]

i didnt even know i could save the original hem, just getting back into sewing this tutorial is much appreciated.

[@RokoleeDIY]

I'm glad it proved helpful :) Thanks for watching!

[@Cautiousl-o7c]

I have my late Mother's sewing machine, and haven't a clue how to thread the darn thing! This video is most helpful, thank you!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Ha! I'm glad the video helped :)

[@andrewwood5620]

Thank you, that is very helpful. It's something my dear mum would do without thinking. I tried it tonight on a cheap pair of ASDA jeans and m pleased with the result :)

[@RokoleeDIY]

Excellent :) Thanks for watching!

[@emmasurf8768]

So happy this video is still available. Had no idea how easy it is to keep the original hem. You just saved me a ton of money to have a tailor do this. Like another poster said, it's sad that my mom's machine is sitting here and I'm clueless on how to even thread it, so this is a godsend for me :)

[@RokoleeDIY]

Excellent! I'm glad it helped :)

[@David-mu5ss]

Took a LOT more time than I thought it would but now my jeans are the perfect length! Thanks!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Yay! Glad you got there in the end :D

[@kathleenmckeithen118]

Thank you SO much for this tutorial. Using the pinking shears to deal with the excess jean material is the best way!!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Glad it was helpful! Thank for watching :)

[@kathleenmckeithen118]

@@RokoleeDIY 😊

[@panair4126]

Very helpful for most of us who never the length right.awell made video with the right verbal guidance. Thank you 👍

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thank you :D

[@suehobbs1318]

Excellent clear step by step instructions. I feel confident to do this with my jeans. Thank you.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thank you :) You can do it!

[@Draculhitz]

.. been trolling YT for similar instructions ... this is the best one so far 😘

[@RokoleeDIY]

Aw thanks :D

[@emmaquan3542]

THIS IS AN AMAZING VIDEO! It’s the first time I was able to hem my own pants after watching this. THANK YOU!! ♥️

[@RokoleeDIY]

Excellent! I'm so glad it helped you :)

[@vanillaposh]

Your video is one of the MOST detailed I’ve come across so far! Thank you!!!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Aw thanks very much!

[@CA2AL]

I bought a pair of Levi's at a yard sale for $2. After washing them, I noticed they are a size Long, which means they are too long for me. Thank you for making this video! I haven't operated a sewing machine in five years and not exactly keen to dust it off and relearn it. Now I will be able to fix my $2 pants and they'll look great. 🎉 ❤ 🙌

[@RokoleeDIY]

Excellent :) Glad you found it useful

[@CA2AL]

@@RokoleeDIY 🩷

[@shaggysmurf4422]

Cool. No more folding up my jeans. Perfect fit. Took off 5 inches off my jeans hahaha.... **crying on the inside**

[@RokoleeDIY]

Ha! I'm glad it was helpful to you :)

[@fonzo2525]

I want to buy another pair of jeans just to try this,my elderly mom just hemmed a pair of jeans for me using a sewing machine and she didn't keep the original hem so the stitching doesn't exactly match on the new hem,but I'm not picky and I felt bad that she did it for me in the first place,I think I can do this and can't wait to try it,thx you for this very helpful and easy to follow video😃

[@RokoleeDIY]

Aw thanks for the comment and I hope it goes well when you give it a go :)

[@lu4632]

Thank you so much for your tutorial, it is very comprehensive and easy to understand. I would like to do this with some of my pants, but I would like to taper the legs of the pants as well. The tutorials I see on tapering the legs of jeans involve pinning the excess fabrics on the legs, making a stitch along the desired new seam, and cutting off excess fabric, and this excess fabric that is cut off usually runs to the hem of the jeans as well. How should I go about tapering and hemming the jeans? I’m guessing I should taper first and then hem, but I think when I taper I have to cut the hem off the sides a bit and I just am a bit confused on how to do it without messing up the hem for when I want to go back in and hem it with the original hem.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thank you :) Hmm that's a tricky one and not something I have done before. Perhaps when you taper the legs, you could stop tapering at the point above the hem where you will fold the fabric upwards. Hard to explain, but you could taper down to the point where you will place the hem, and then flare outwards a bit below that point. So you'll have the legs tapered but the bottoms of the legs flared out a bit - so that when you come to fold the original hem upwards it will fit and won't be too narrow?? It works in my mind anyway! Sorry I can't be of more help :)

[@NilezII]

Works great! I don't have a sewing machine, and I stink at sewing!

[@fritzluvsstarz1987]

I have been watching alot of videos about heming by hand&& your video was so very helpful. Thanks A bunch!!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thanks! :D

[@RomPontifex]

Wow, I had no idea that you could keep the original hem. Very excited to try this. Thanks for making this video!

[@RokoleeDIY]

No problem, thanks for watching!

[@snook7100]

Rom Pontypool I’ve been having my jeans hemmed, keeping the original hem, for years. I pay dearly, though.

[@snook7100]

Uhhhh... No thanks. I’ll just pay to have it done. 😊

[@jjggirt1845]

Clear concise and to the point. Thank you!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thank you!

[@ЖулетаАфриканка]

This is the best and the easy way so far.Thanks gonna try it now.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thank-you :)

[@RJisBack24]

You are a very very good teacher!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Aw thank you :D

[@JannyMaha]

Very well explained and demonstrated. Thank you.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thanks very much :)

[@lotteliselotte]

Thank you! Great instructions Did it in an hour and a half. Looks amazing l!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Awesome! Glad it worked well for you :)

[@nancymc8676]

Thank you! This is brilliant and so easy to follow!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thank you :D You're very welcome!

[@leeshrobin]

Thank you very much!, I hem my 2 skinny fit jeans successfully :D

[@RokoleeDIY]

Excellent! I'm glad it was useful to you :)

[@Tanya-hy8eq]

Well, I tried this method today on my son's jeans. And I must have missed the part where it doubles... He needed 4 inches taking off and I folded and measured 4 inches instead of 2. Thanks for showing how this works tho

[@Lemmikki2011]

Thank you for the video. What an excellent presentation and thorough explanation!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Glad it was helpful! :)

[@jimtakahashi4638]

I don’t think I’d ever try this myself, but nonetheless I’m greatly impressed with your idea and its presentation on this vid. Well done!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thank you!

[@CA2AL]

You Can Do It!

[@Lookdownhereiam]

I did it!!!!!! Thank you so much. Wow. It really worked.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Excellent! Glad it helped you :)

[@Lookdownhereiam]

@@RokoleeDIY Thank you. Even my mom was impressed. No one could tell.

[@melissadavis692]

Going to try this tonight. Thank you! :)

[@RokoleeDIY]

:) I hope it went well!

[@DiannaAtherton]

Excellent tutorial

[@RokoleeDIY]

Glad you liked it :D

[@nspencer257]

I'm just trying to hem my kids jeans so this was helpful, but I also have to laugh a little thinking back to when I was a teen and it was cool to have long pants drag on the ground.. 😅😂

[@RokoleeDIY]

Ha yes same when I was a teenager too :)

[@yeolblt]

Hi, thanks so much for teaching me this new and very helpful skill :) I'm just about to shorten a pair of jeans :)

[@RokoleeDIY]

Wonderful! Hope it goes well :)

[@anneygeorge4009]

Made it so easy , thanks 😊

[@RokoleeDIY]

Yay! :D

[@lalorraine9023]

Great video! I'm going to try this right now on my son's new jeans - thank you :)

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thanks! Glad you found it useful :)

[@bearnosaur]

tried it! Really helpful instructions and followed along quickly.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thanks very much, I'm so glad you found it easy to follow :)

[@brendao649]

Thank you you made it very easy to understand

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thank you :D

[@kaimac12]

Trying this on 3 pairs of denim tomorrow. I ordered cropped jeans and usually they fit perfectly. But they must have measured them for a tall model because theyre still too long for my short legs :(.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Good luck! I hope it goes well :)

[@Eyedocmackay]

So easy to follow. Thanks for this valuable video!

[@RokoleeDIY]

You're very welcome!

[@fhewes7773]

That's me... Old school😉❣️🌹

[@RokoleeDIY]

:)

[@amyawn7930]

Wow . great job..

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thank you!

[@purpleygirl100]

Excellent video, nice and clear and well explained.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thank you :D

[@AerialBluezBird]

Thank you, this was extremely helpful. I successfully hemmed a pair of jeans! Would you recommend this for other types of pants as well? I'm new to sewing.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Hi! I'm so glad it worked for you :) It should work for other pants too, yes, although I've only done this with jeans myself.

[@pegasus23pfa]

@@RokoleeDIY Actually it is simpler with other pants because you are not trying to rerain the original decorative top stitching of jeans. Just examine the existing seam, which is usually anything from 1 inch to 1and a quater inches, or 1 to 2 cm approx. And it is held in place by an overclocking back invisible cross stitching, which only picks up the back of the fabric without penetrating to the front. This is easily done with a little practice. I've done all pants of various family members for years, who have appreciated the final result. Check for video showing cross stitching or feather stitching seams.

[@pegasus23pfa]

I should add, I always do this by hand!

[@bsphleb1989]

This video was awesome! Thaaaank uuuu.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thank you! :D

[@janeevans9983]

Brilliant!! Thank you so much 😊

[@RokoleeDIY]

You're so welcome!

[@martinacollins9299]

Thanks a lot for sharing this video, it really helped me much.

[@RokoleeDIY]

I'm so glad it was useful for you :D Thanks for watching

[@rosbtim]

Very nice!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thanks!

[@matthewvconnolly]

Very helpful thank you!

[@RokoleeDIY]

You're welcome!

[@lesleyakhrass6354]

Great video. Could you do this with trousers?

[@RokoleeDIY]

If you really want to keep the exact same hem on the trousers, then I don't see why not (especially if the trousers are straight leg), but in trousers that have a lighter weight fabric than denim, sewing a brand new hem may be a better choice :)

[@quynhg4074]

Thank you very much!

[@angiedemirev6064]

Thank you for this idea its very helpful..

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thanks for watching!

[@stephaniek2913]

I don’t understand why you double the half-inch hem and move the pin up the leg a full inch from the original desired length. I need to take off two inches, so I’d be moving the pin up a total of three inches per your instructions …sew the hem…fold original 1/2” hem back down & iron flat. Wouldn’t I then have pants that are a 1/2 inch too short?

[@RokoleeDIY]

Sorry for the late reply! When you fold the hem upwards to where that pin is, you are then going to be sewing 1/2" down from where the pin is - as the hem is 1/2" and you'll be sewing below it. So the jeans will end up 1" longer than where the pin is, since there's 1/2" of hem to fold down, plus 1/2" between the pin and where you will be sewing. Hope that makes sense :)

[@stephenremington8448]

This is great! I use fabric for patches, could fabric glue be used instead of the whip stitch, or would it be too messy?

[@RokoleeDIY]

As long it'll hold up to washing then you can use it :)

[@Eco_Grl]

For the side seam sometimes it’s too thick to push needles through so what do you suggest? Thank you so much tho

[@RokoleeDIY]

Hi! If the needle if tough to push through, sometimes I use pliers to help me. But also, if you can, try and cut out any of the excess fabric in the seam first (as long as it's not visible from the front) :)

[@roamer3727]

EXCELLENT VIDEO ..........THANKYOU

[@RokoleeDIY]

Glad you liked it!

[@deborahBoylan]

Hi, I am 5’5 and it seems legs get longer and longer on trousers. We can’t all wear high heels retailers!!! 🥰

[@aeptacon]

Cooool something I can do because I am too cheap to pay $8-$14 bucks lol

[@josephthan5650]

I am still finding a solution for low rise jeans, all the tutorial on KZbin are doable only to regular straight leg jeans. I would appreciate your reply.

[@RokoleeDIY]

Hi! Do you mean you want to hem flared jeans? In that case trying to keep the original hem would not work, you are right - but I have a video on my channel about sewing a new hem that should work (although may need a little adjustment such as cutting out a little excess fabric at the sides depending on how flared the jeans are). Hope that helps :)

[@josephthan5650]

@@RokoleeDIY Thanks a bunch ☺️ I will try to find it out

[@LJC3276]

excellent

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thank you :D

[@axiomatic-z5k]

I told my dad I would hem his jeans for him and he said “what! You can’t hem denim”. So there, dad.

[@kristysicignano5598]

What if your bottom hem is 1 1/2"? Will this still work?

[@werdnaxela9553]

It should work with any size. Just finished hemming 1” and it worked fine for me

[@RokoleeDIY]

Yes, exactly, it should work with whatever size of hem as you're keeping it intact :)

[@jag8789]

very good video

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thanks!

[@moumitasaha7021]

Helpful,thanks

[@RokoleeDIY]

Thanks for watching!

[@Diana-ki8tb]

Does this technique work with bootcut jeans?

[@RokoleeDIY]

It should do yes, but you can check first by measuring across the hem and across the leg where you want the hem to be after you've done the alteration...they shouldn't be much different. The more difference there is, the more difficult it'll be and you might either have to just sew a new hem instead or do some adjusting of the hem width :)

[@LCP_452]

Thank you!

[@RokoleeDIY]

You're welcome!

[@dawnrainbowstar9670]

Will this work even when there needs to be quite a bit of length to hem?

[@RokoleeDIY]

It really depends on the style of the jeans - the straighter the leg the better. On flares it wouldn't work. Try just folding the hem up the leg (without cutting or sewing anything) and that might give you a better idea if the original hem will be wide enough to re-use that far up the leg. Thanks for watching :

[@dannichols6261]

Would it be terrible to use DOUBLE THREAD, instead of doing it the 'correct' way (ie, a single thread with a small tail to help hold the single thread into the eye of the needle)? When I try using a single thread it keeps pulling out often, and my eyesight is so poor it's a frustrating struggle to constantly re-thread it. On the other hand, I'm thinking that maybe double thread could make the 'disappearance' of the seam as the original hem is folded down maybe a problem, as maybe the double thread might be more visible than the single one?

[@dannichols6261]

I did finally figure out that I could just use a longer tail of thread to hold the single thread more securely onto the needle, so I did use the single thread. But I almost ended up with a big extra fold/bump near the end of sewing the first hem on, almost as if the jeans were flared, though they're not. The leg side was clearly slightly longer than the hem side, so it would have made one LARGE bump/fold if I'd continued like I had been, so I sort of 'finessed' the large bump into a lot of small ones which I could semi-smooth out with each following stitch. Haven't cut off the excess yet, so I don't know how the hem will fall. I could rip it all out, I have a ripper from my mom's old stuff, but I probably won't.

[@RokoleeDIY]

I hope you've figured this out OK now :) I would guess the double thread should be fine to use.

[@dannichols6261]

@@RokoleeDIY Thanks, I did, though I'll make sure that on next pair of jeans I'll do the real, not California, hem! I went ahead & used the single thread method, but then when whipping the finish I used double thread. I did find the pinking shears to be a problem. Although they seemed VERY sharp & tight, was still very hard to cut through two layers of denim, so i cut one layer at a time. Didn't even out same as if cut both layers together, but whipped fairly well. I did find that when whipping to the right, it's VERY important to keep the thread laid completely to the LEFT so the stitches lay correctly when tightened.

[@tabithatimothy8242]

Thank you 😊

[@nickt609]

Thank you

[@notgoodatexplaining]

I have a question, how do I press my jeans? Thank you!

[@RokoleeDIY]

Have you tried a sleeve roll or sleeve board?

[@missmarple3170]

بارك الله فيكِ فكرة رائعة

[@captain.tripp.]

Dont know where things went wrong for me but the hem is not folding down and the pants are now an inch too short

[@RokoleeDIY]

Oh no! Sounds like maybe you sewed on the wrong side/edge at some point.

[@brightandrosie1543]

What the he'll is polyester thread?? Can't I use normal one?? I'm sewing sportsbra????

[@RokoleeDIY]

Polyester is just a strong all-rounder in terms of what thread to use :)

[@barsonyka7855]

I tried and my jeans end streched and look like a pyjamas .lol

[@RokoleeDIY]

Oh no! Were your jeans stretch jeans, or perhaps flared?

[@howardgoldstein8290]

...so what you are doing is actually shortening the jeans since they already have a hem..................

[@ignazs.5816]

Keeping the original hem is the most ridiculous trend I've ever seen. And looks quite bad up close. Who came up with this?

[@dannichols6261]

I dunno, I guess it's supposed to be easier or faster than making a regular sewn cuff. But it might be useful if you've worn the jeans for a while with a large folded up cuff (not a good idea!), and it's become worn at the folded up bend, and making a normal sewn cuff would put the bottom of that sewn cuff at the same place where the fabric's threads have been somewhat broken.

[@monicafrancisco1198]

Does this work for bootcut jeans???

[@RokoleeDIY]

The jeans in the video are bootcut :) I would say that tapered jeans are the only type where this wouldn't work at all, as the original hem would be too narrow. Flares can be tricky too, but are possible - it might just mean that you'd need to cut off some excess at the sides and have a play around with it. Thanks for watching!

[@eleldel10684]

Thank you!!!

[@a3vus]

Thank you!

[@RokoleeDIY]

You're welcome!