I used sashiko-like stitching to hem a pair of thrifted jeans. The inseam now fits better and the jeans have a “visible mending” aesthetic.

I’ve had a pair of thrifted jeans that I didn’t like for a couple of years. They were too long (and bootcut, which exacerbates the annoyance of a too-long inseam—all that fabric just hanging around my ankles!). Alas, my post-third-baby and pandemic-life body fits these jeans and not many other pants. So, I figured I can’t make these jeans any worse, so why not try to hem them and make them marginally better?

Pinterest, a go-to for inspiration, didn’t have too much about visibly hemming pants. There are about a bazillion tutorials on how to hem jeans with the original hem, but for this project, I didn’t have the patience. I did find this inspiration: jeans with colorful stitching to hold a cuff in place. I wasn’t interested in a cuff as much as just shortening the legs of my jeans.

I dived right into this project by first cutting off the original hem. Because of the bootcut silhouette and my annoyance at the excessive fabric around my ankles, removing the hem got rid of some of that heft. 

Then, I folded up the pantlegs to a length I liked. I had been doing this when I wore them anyway. Anyone else despise how a cuff like this will catch anything and everything? I’ve taken my pants off at the end of the day to find bits of dried leaves and grass and dirt hiding in the cuffs!

I held the hem in place with some clips and broke out a needle and some pearl cotton thread. I went to town with a running stitch along the folded-up hem, securing the fabric in place. It gives the hem a sashiko stitch look and a nod to the visible mending trend (which is what I was going for second to shortening the length). 

Overall? The pants are still not my favorite. But, they are better than what they were! Plus, I got some practice hand stitching and felt a sense of accomplishment getting a small project started and completed (hard to do with a one-year-old crawling around!). I’ve washed the jeans and there is some fraying where I cut off the original hem. But, it’s nothing just a little snipping of loose threads here and there can’t fix. 

Have you ever taken a chance on altering a piece of clothing you felt “meh” about? Did you like it better afterwards? Let me know!