Editing Pants: Part One

So, I have to apologize for only having half of this post done. HOWEVER I felt that this could work fairly well as a sort of two parter pants-series-type-thing. For those of you that are living on strict budgets, something as simple as needing a new pair of jeans can be an immensely stressful thing. (even if your favorite brand is on the lower end side of prices) They are a simple staple, and in my opinion, a necessity. Jeans are just expensive no matter how you slice it, even the lower-end brands of jeans can be $40-$50. Another thing- I personally love thrift shopping, most of my wardrobe is thrifted, but I can not stand thrifted jeans. They are never long enough, the butts have already been worn in, and there's a certain level of worn-in-ness they seem to have that no amount of detergent can get out. 

I have been faced with this problem very recently, its a cycle. I can't get super nice jeans, so I buy cheap jeans, which wear out quick and warp, so then I need new jeans again. I should just bite the bullet and buy good jeans, but alas I never learn.

The main problem I was having was that lots of my old jeans/pants have warped, no longer fit very tightly, or I simply bought them one size too big (or I lost weight? Unlikely.) but are otherwise still in wearable conditions. 

I'm a big supporter of not caring too much about what you look like, but you should, bottom line, feel good in the clothes you're in. If the jeans don't fit nice, you are not going to feel like you look good, which is something I find very important. Doesn't matter what other people think you look like, it matters how you feel in your clothes. As far as pants are concerned, I feel most comfortable in a nice stretchy tight pair of jeans, and most of my pants had lost this quality. 

So this is my solution!

It's actually a pretty simple task, even people with little experience can do this if they have access to a sewing machine. (A serger would be best, but its not that big of a deal if you aren't a perfectionist) 

I simply put my jeans on inside out, which was hilarious and I apologize for not having a picture of that, maybe in Part Two, and pinned the pants in to where I wanted them to fit. 

Then I set my machine to a nice wide and reinforced stitch, and sewed them up! I created a very nice straight steady incline up the leg, so the butt kept the nice fit it already had, but the legs are now brought to a slimmer more flattering fit. I did this on my red pants first because they are one of my least favorite pairs. I do like them don't get me wrong, but if I messed these up I wouldn't care as much as if I had messed up my plaid corduroys, which I will be saving for last. 

After I sewed up both legs I turned them right-side-out and tried them on to make sure everything was working nicely before I cut off the excess fabric.

Success! In Part Two I will show before and after pics, as well as an amusing picture of myself in a pair of inside out jeans. I swear it will be all the rage this fall!

Happy budget saving and sewing to any of you brave ones out there!