Turn Bootcut Jeans Into Straight Leg Jeans

     Remember my post on hemming jeans? Well I got some really cute Coach driving mocs for Christmas and I decided to alter my jeans again to go with them. I don't know about you, but I just feel like wider leg pants look good only with heavier shoes. I feel like for a daintier shoe, like ballet flats and driving moccasins, you need a narrower leg pant. Rather than break in a new pair, I thought I'd just alter my current faves.
     I had to take off my hems for this alteration and put them back on, so I'll cover that too.

Step 1: Turn jeans inside out and measure the length.
Lay your jeans perfectly flat with the outside seam flat. The inside seam (the one usually sewn to look like your hem) should kind of roll over, meaning the front of the leg was made from a narrower piece of fabric than the back of the leg.
*I already took off the hems in this picture. If you're hemming your jeans for the first time, now is the time to measure your length and cut them off.

Step 2: Measure the width of the legs.
Next you need to measure the width of your jeans starting at the knee. I used a Sharpie in a bright color to mark the jeans all the way down, the same width as the knee.

 

The first marks that're unpinned were my first attempts

I put in a few safety pins along my marks and tried them on to make sure they weren't too tight in the calves.





Step 3: Mark the line for your new seam.
Measure across the bottom on each side. Measure the same distance up each leg to where it starts to taper in for the knee. I marked the ruler and used it to make a diagonal line on each pant leg.


























Step 4: Sew along the line you just marked.

It was hard to see the stitches on top of the Sharpie line
so I flipped it over so you could see both sides.

Step 5: Trim off excess and serge or zigzag stitch your raw edge.

Sharpie side

Non Sharpie side

Step 6: Line up seams and sew down hem. 
*If you missed my tutorial on how to hem jeans you need to read this first before going any further so you know what's going on. This hem will be a little different because we will have to take out some of the width.

Start sewing at the seam that you just made.

Make sure the seams match. This is the inside seam. Leave intact!

Sew as close to the edge as possible.

Step 7: Finish off the new hem seam.
When you finish sewing down the hem, you'll wind up with this.

Get as close to your starting point as you can. Give yourself about an inch of room to work with. Mark where the pieces should join and give yourself about a half inch extra on each side.

Step 8: Cut off the excess and make new hem seam.

Holding these edges right sides together, mark where they need to meet.

Sew strip of hem along your mark. Trim it and serge or zigzag the raw edge.      

Step 9: Sew down the new seam.
Fold the finished edge to the side and stitch down the last inch of of the hem seam. Make sure you line up the hem seam with the leg seam and get as close to the edge as possible.







Step 10: Trim and finish raw edge.
Trim off as much as you feel comfortable. Serge or zigzag the raw edge. My serger doesn't like thick layers of denim so I serge as much as I can and do the seams with a zigzag.

Here's the sides after serging.

Here's the final edge after finishing all the way around.

Final step: Turn right side out and iron.

Not too shabby, eh? Well worth the time and effort. Altogether I think it took about 2 hours. 

FYI: They've been washed since then and haven't needed to be ironed again.

*This post is related to my previous post, How To Hem Jeans Without Looking Like a Dork.