Posts Tagged ‘skinny jeans’

Refashioned: Denim Trousers

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I think I may have perfected the skinny pant.

I scored the above trouser denim at the thrift store for $4, just about 9-10 months ago. They’re fantastic, but I can’t quite do the trouser pant. I didn’t look fat, but I felt fat when I wore them. So I never wore them.

Do you have clothes like that? It doesn’t matter how flattering the mirror says they are, they just don’t feel right?

It took me a while to get around to making them skinny, but once I sat down to do it, the alteration took me a few hours. For my first attempt, I laid my favorite pair of skinnies on top of the denim (similar to these), marked a line and sewed. They were much too tight. From there I decided to figure out the fit of one pant leg (perfection took several tries with the seam-ripper). After I achieved the perfect fit in one leg, I transfered the alteration to the other side using pattern paper. Each side turned out symmetrically and PERFECT!

These are more of a cigarette pant, than a skinny pant. They have the perfect amount of give all the way down the pant, but not so much give that it adds bulk to my legs.

These pants are my new mom jeans. They look nice, but they feel like pajamas. Victory!

The Dirty Deets on Skinnies by Guest

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Until I get my studio set up at our new place, I’ll be posting mostly thrifty finds, ideas & guest posts. If you’re interested in guest posting , please email submissions (photos 500px wide) to melissa at melissaesplin dot com.

MissE shares exactly how I skinnified my jeans back in August, but with actual process photos. Additional tutorials on how to skinnify your pants can be found here: Freshly Picked • I’m Topsy Turvy • Cotton & Curls

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Hey friends! I’m MissE from Made on Main, and I love finding opportunities to create and recreate. Melissa is a super refashionista, so I thought I’d take a shot at altering some of my jeans to take them from “bum” to “fun”. (I tend to use dorky phrases like that a lot.)

I have a story for you. My legs are short, my torso is normal, and jeans are always problematic. My favorite pair of jeans are skinnies from Hollister in 1 short, yet somehow they’re still too long for me by about 2 inches. I’m sure you all have so much pity for me. Anyway, I had some very faded out jeans I was super into, but their 2000-esque flair and crudely cut-off bottoms made me feel a little like a bum every time I wore them. I decided to take action and skinny them, and I couldn’t be more happy with the results! The steps were really quite simple.

1 | I turned the jeans to be altered inside-out, and laid them out, legs spread. I laid my existing skinny jeans on top, lining up the outside seams of the two jeans. Then, in a highly scientific fashion, I copied the outline of the inseam onto the jeans to be altered.

2 | Using a simple basting stitch, I followed the line I had drawn on my jeans. I tried them on (which is surprisingly difficult when they’re inside-out) and determined where I still wanted to bring the seam in a bit tighter. Once I was comfortable with the seam, I followed up with a zig-zap stitch for reinforcement. If I wanted to get more wear out of the jeans, I probably could have used a sturdier combination of stitches, but I think I’ll wear holes in the knees before the seams wear out. I cut off the excess and flipped those babies right-side-out.

5 | I folded the bottom hem over twice and stitched across the top of the fold for the cuffs.

4 | Then I modeled them, of course. I love my new skinny jeans, and they’re actually the right length for me!

I think my next project will be a skinny refashion AND dyeing them a rich purple, like the skirt I did here. It’s such a quick and easy way to get a “new” pair of jeans!

Thanks so much for having me over, Melissa!

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