I hate skinny jeans. I refuse to buy them. I bought a ticket for the boot-cut bandwagon on it’s maiden voyage and I’m never getting off.
But I love boots. I love stomping around in them, I love the sense of empowerment they endow, and I love the contrast when you wear them with soft floral dresses and skirts.
But sometimes it gets cold and we have to wear our boots with jeans. And, unfortunately, those jeans need to be skinny. So, today I decided to turn some of my “extra” boot-cuts into FREE skinny jeans.
If you want free skinny jeans too, just take some old jeans that fit well around the waist, put them on inside-out, and pin up the outside leg where you want the new seam to go. Then sew them up with a bigger needle (I used 90/14) and you’re done!
The leg on the right is the original. Looking at this picture, it doesn’t actually look that bad, but trust me, it was so bunchy and after 3 minutes of wear, it would start coming out of the top of the boot. Not pretty.
The leg on the left is the “after”. Much better.
Bonus: instant 5-lb weight loss!
I also altered this shirt:
I just took in the side seams from waist to wrist, much like this technique, and added a few rows of shirring in the back. I’ve never altered a shirt before, I usually just throw them in the refashion pile. But I think this one turned out great and I’m glad I salvaged it.
Here’s the “after” of the whole outfit:
Do you have clothes that frustrate you because they don’t fit quite right? I encourage you to give alterations a shot. Worst case, you ruin something you couldn’t wear anyway, but more likely, you’ll end up with a new addition to your wardrobe! Always a plus.
Nice! I always stayed away from skinny jeans too until my husband insisted that they looked better on me than any other jeans he had seen. I was a believer after that! Turns out they have become my favorites…I own 3 pairs. Good for you for taking the leap!
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Wow, this is great! Shirring! Who would have thought?? And I am so jealous of your figure! (and your boots!)
Wow! Fashionable finish. I’ve been on the bootcut bandwagon, but I might convert…
Skinny jeans are one thing; jeans that look spray painted on with an inch of flub flopping over the waistband is another :P These look great!
Question on the shirt: since you were making it smaller, did you insert a smaller panel (as the tute suggests) or just sew up a new side seam? Does going smaller affect the armpit area of the top?
Good questions, Melinda! Sorry, should’ve explained better. I didn’t insert a panel, just cut through the entire side seam and sewed it back together with a wider seam allowance. When I got near the armpit, I angled it fairly close to the original seam to allow for ease of movement, and then as I sewed down the sleeve, I angled back out again. The beauty of this technique is that you can alter each area of the shirt to fit perfectly (waist, bust, upper arm, wrist) with only one seam. To make both sides match, I folded the shirt in half and traced my new seam onto the other side of the shirt, and then just sewed on that line. The jeans work the same way. If you only want to take in the part below the knee, for example, you can do that and not make the thigh any tighter (thus avoiding the spray painted look :)
LOL! Thanks dude :)
Just thought I would let you know, I nominate you for this award! :)
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Amen to the skinny jeans! I thought I was the only one that couldn’t stand them. Cute outfit!
That looks really nice together in the after photo. Skinny jeans go so well under a pair of boots. They’re great for the winter.
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I do not understand that many people do not like skinny jeans! are beautiful and make people look bad! boots are used in most of the time with skinny jeans! you’ll look good if you use them! I assure you! P greetings!
Lol!