I have a weakness. This is a really budget busting weakness too... I love designer jeans. I love anything with alot of detail. Not overwhelmingly extravagant but simple details that accentuate the high quality demin and designer cuts. As I'm sure you know, this kind of craftsmanship comes at a high cost and deservedly so, it takes a lot of time and hand working. I usually hunt for these high ticket items at the Nordstrom Rack and other discount stores. Even when I do find the perfect pair I am always faced with alterations as I am 5' 3". I always have to take 3" off the bottoms because the designers apparently think everyone is 5' 6". Anyway, altering means I always have to lose the beautiful finishing details on the hem line. Well not anymore!
I went to a local fabric store and picked up some embroidery floss at $0.69 each. I had to buy two colors (gold and light blue) because the designer just couldn't have chosen one color to embroider, NO, they intertwined two colors! While I appreciate the effect, it made me add another step to my method.
First thing I did was hem the jeans to the correct length. Then I began to hand stitch over the hem line with the embroidery floss.
This wont take very long if you are only doing a single stitch line. I wanted to match the stitch on my inseam so I did two. You don't have to completely sew through the layers of demin either. I just tacked mine along the first layer of the hem line to speed things up.
After you have completed one hem line, before you tie it off, tug at the hem line a bit to stretch it. It will give it a more texturized look and feel.
Do you see the implications of this discovery? Yes, this means we can take any pair regular old jeans and make them look like designer denim! Just look for jeans with simple flattering cuts, typically in a dark wash and embroider away!
When I tackle fun yet tedious projects like this I always snuggle up on the couch and pop in a favorite flick. Makes it go by faster and I am multi tasking ;)
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