Now that summer is in full bloom, I’ve slowly been putting away the winter clothes until the next season (I know, midsummer is well past spring cleaning!). I find it’s a good time to take stock of what is still wearable, what needs to be repaired or patched and see which well loved pants can be turned into shorts if I they are unlikely to survive another winter. As I’m getting ready to cut these H&M twill pants for my son, I thought I’d take the opportunity to write a tutorial on how I turn jeans (or pants) into shorts.
If you don’t own a sewing machine and/or have never sewn, this tutorial is for you. I will teach you how to sew the hem with a simple backstitch.
When to cut jeans into shorts
Because I want to make my family’s loved clothes last, I usually prefer to add patches to jeans that have been worn out at the knees. That said, I base my decision on what jeans to cut generally on the needs of my child and/or the state of the pants. In the case of these blue pants, the back of the jeans are wearing a little thin and I don’t think they would make it through another winter season. The fabric at the upper leg is also wearing quite thin so even if I added some patches at the knees, the pants would most likely start tearing again after a few months. So these are the ideal pants to cut. Here are the supplies you will need for the project:
Supplies needed
- Jeans
- Fabric scissors
- measuring tape and/or ruler
- Iron
- 100% cotton thread or embroidery floss
- crewel needle & thimble
Step 1: Choose length of shorts
I’m a big fan of just over or below the knee for shorts so I’m going to cut the pants at the tear line. If you want to make the line a bit shorter, I recommend trying the pants on and marking the line of where you want the finished hem. Then add 1” to this mark before cutting for the seam allowance (cuff). With a ruler, trace a line perpendicular to the inseam and side seam to make sure the shorts cuff is straight.
Step 2: Mark measurement on second leg of pants
To make sure both legs are the same lenght, measure the inseam from the crotch to the line you traced and trace a line at the same measurement on the other leg. Do the same thing for the side seam and trace a line across the jeans with a ruler
Setp 3: Cut jeans
Making sure the pants are laid flat on a table or the floor, cut the jeans with fabric scissors.
If you like the Huckleberry Fin look and want to let them fray, your work here is done! You might need to cut a few threads that unravel after the wash to give your jeans a cleaner look. Don’t get rid of the cut off fabric! Keep in your mending basket and turn them into patches for another pair of pants. For inspiration, go to my shop and see the different patch patterns we have available. Keep reading to find out how to make a hem.
Step 4: Iron the hem
Flip jeans inside out and fold up the bottom of the pants by 1/2”. Iron flat to mark the fold line. Fold a second time again 1/2”. This is a double folded hem.
Fold once 
Fold twice
Step 5: Sew hem with backstitch or machine
Using a single strand, thread your needle and make a knot with both ends of the strand. This way, you never lose your needle. Working on the front side of the fabric, follow the diagram below to sew the hem with a backstitch at 3/8” from the edge.
If you have a sewing machine, stitching the hem will obviously take only a few minutes but the hand stitched hem will give you a few hours of meditative joy. You can read all about How Mending Clothes Can Be Therapeutic in my blog post here. But regardless if you use a machine or your hands, turning old jeans into shorts will allow you to keep those well loved pants a little longer before they get passed on or perhaps up-cycled into something new. Like a Modern Mending patch perhaps?
Happy Mending!