I’ve started clothes shopping pretty exclusively at thrift stores, especially for jeans. I often find jeans in great condition for just a couple of bucks. Knowing the ecological cost of producing jeans, buying them secondhand makes me very happy. Not only that, but I’ve found myself much more likely to use them, wear them out, and get them dirty when I only spent a handful of dollars. The “fear” of ruining good jeans goes away! That, my friends, makes life much more fun.
On a thrift store trip about a year ago, I found a pair of pants that I loved and fit great… except that they were way to long for my frame. They sat in my closet for a long time, simply because they were too long to wear. Finally, I decided I needed to do something about it, and this month’s Aurifil Challenge of visible mending was the perfect kick I needed.
Instead of a normal pant hemming, I chose to visibly mend them by adding a hand-stitched cuff with Aurifil 12 weight thread. Not only are they now usable, but the added pop of color brings a beautiful twist to otherwise ordinary pants. I first put the pants on, figured out where I wanted them to end, and then added some pins to keep folded cuff in place while I stitched.
I did a simple running stitch to secure the two layers of denim together, paying special attention to catching the hem in my stitches. I didn’t want to find myself with a hem that rolled over in the wash or wouldn’t lay flat. I first went through with Aurifil #2745, which is the blue color that matched my denim really well. Once I had gone all the way around the cuff, I went back in and added a few rows of stitching with Aurifil #6728 for a pop of color.
Another benefit of this mend is that it is reversible. This means that if someday these jeans are still in great condition but they no longer fit me, I’ll be able to remove my stitches so that someone taller than me is able to wear them. Unlike a normal machine hemming, you can reverse the length back to original!
I’m very pleased with this mending, and it didn’t take very long at all. I just needed to sit down and do it! Isn’t that sometimes the case? I’m so happy to be heading into summer with these jeans in my wardrobe. And, as someone on the shorter side, I’m happy to have a new hemming solution in my pocket!
Great Idea!!
Thank you!