How to Hem Jeans like a Professional

I am 5'2" necessitating LOTS of hemming and shortening of pants, skirts, and dresses. I just can't find anything the right length. If you've ever priced the cost of professional seamstresses (and add in the time it takes to get your clothing back), it costs a fortune to have everything you buy hemmed. I learned years ago how to hem pants and skirts, but jeans always gave me grief. A couple of years ago my older sister showed me a pair of her jeans that she had hemmed professionally, and it was easy to see how it was done. The difference is that jeans typically have a worn edge. The hem is decorative, so cutting that edge off to shorten them takes away part of the character you're paying for. So I developed a tutorial for hemming jeans the way professional would. Hope you find this helpful!

What you'll need:
sewing machine
dark thread to match the jeans
iron
straight pins
measuring tape
scissors

The Process:
You'll need to measure the desired length of the jeans. The easiest way I've found to do this is to have the person stand on a chair and scoot back so the heel of their shoes is even with the edge of the chair. It might be helpful to note that you definitely need to have them wear the shoes they'd typically wear with the jeans. I prefer to hem the jeans to the ground. So, using a safety pin or water-soluble marking pen, mark the desired length (in my case, where the shoe ends and the chair begins).

Next, measure the amount you'll need to shorten them from the edge of the current hem to the mark you've made. In the jeans in this tutorial, they needed to be shortened 2 1/2 inches.

Lay the jeans flat on a hard surface, and measure up the desired length (2 1/2 inches here) from the stitching on the current hem. Since the current hem will remain in place, that half inch or so will also remain. So, if you measure from the edge of your jeans, they'll still be a half an inch too long after hemming. Make sense? Now place a straight pin to mark.

Next you'll fold the edge of your jeans up into a cuff matching the current stitching to just above the pin like this. Pin in place.
To check your accuracy, divide your total amount needed to shorten (2 1/2 inches for me) by 2 (equalling 1 1/4 inches in my case). Measure from the fold to just under the current stitching making sure this amount is half of the amount you need to take it in.

Next, keeping this length consistent, pin all the way around the cuff. Measure as you go to make sure you're still consistent. Repeat these steps on the second leg.
When both legs are securely pinned, move the pants to your sewing machine. Carefully stitch in the ditch just along the fold of the current hem. Make sure to get as close to this fold as possible being careful not to sew on top of it or across the current stitching.
Stitch all the way around backstitching where you stop and start. Repeat this step for the other leg.

Remove your jeans from the machine, and turn the cuff up to the inside of the leg like this.
With a steaming hot iron, press this new seam from the inside all the way around each leg.

Now turn the pants inside-out revealing the new cuff on the inside of the leg. Using super sharp scissors, cut the cuff about a quarter inch from your stitching.
Turn the jeans right-side-out, and iron again if necessary to reveal your finished hem.

Easy, and your seam is almost invisible!

As always, please feel free to comment with questions, and I'll do my best to answer.

Handmade Christmas

Christmas of 2008 I decided to make all homemade gifts for family. It was so fun and such a challenge that I dove in head first again this year. Here are the gifts I made. If you're interested in the links to any of the tutorials I found, please feel free to ask in the comments!

Lap Desks: I made a foam pillow covered in fleece then used a heavy-duty Velcro to attach them to the back of wooden clipboards. Easy and functional. These were for my 8 and 6-year-old nephews.
A scarf for my mother-in-law:
An "I Spy" bag for my 3-year-old nephew. Here's the front...
...and the backAnd a quilted colors book for my 9-month-old nephew:

La Madeleine's Tomato Basil Soup Knock-off

This tomato soup tastes as close to La Madeleine's as I've ever had, is easy and quick, and is the perfect comfort food on a cold, rainy night. Yum!

La Madeleine's Tomato Basil Soup Knock-off

4 cups tomatoes, cored, peeled, and chopped (or canned, whole tomatoes, crushed)
4 cups tomato juice
12-14 basil leaves
1 cup heavy cream
¼ lb. sweet, unsalted butter
salt
¼ tsp cracked black pepper
lemon juice

Directions:
Combine tomatoes and juice in a saucepan.

Simmer 30 minutes.

Puree, along with the basil leaves in small batches in a blender. Return to saucepan and add cream and butter while stirring over low heat.

Serve topped with fresh-grated Parmesan cheese. This soup also goes well with my focaccia bread.

Guacamole Tip

This guacamole pictured is over 24-hours old, and it is not even slightly browning! One of my friends shared a tip of throwing the avocado pits into the guacamole to preserve the color, and it absolutely works. Be sure to throw the pit of each avocado used into the guacamole as the chemistry of each fruit is different. Yum!

Recipe found here.

La Madeleine's Strawberries Romanoff Knock-off

(image borrowed from Flickr)

This recipe is so easy and so delicious. I'd highly recommend it over strawberries or any fresh fruit. (I made this for Bible study earlier in the week, but I completely forgot to take a picture, so I borrowed one from Flickr. We served ours with fruit salad.)

La Madeleine's Strawberries Romanoff Knock-off

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

3 Tablespoons white sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 tsp cognac (optional)

Whip the cream in a mixer with a whisk attachment until light and fluffy. Add white sugar, and whip until stiff peaks form. In another bowl, stir brown sugar and cognac into the sour cream. Fold in the whipped cream and sugar, and serve over fresh fruit.

Broiled Tilapia and Teriyaki Veggies

In an attempt to eat more fish, we picked up a bag of frozen tilapia at the grocery store a few weeks ago. Man, have they been handy! They are individually frozen and thaw in 4 minutes in the microwave. I came up with a quick and easy recipe that makes this take less time than running to Sonic or Wendy's which is a HUGE benefit when we're starving and tempted. I'd highly recommend this for anyone - even non-fish eaters. Tilapia has a very mild taste and really takes on the flavor of whatever it is cooked with.

Alicia's Broiled Tilapia

1/8 cup mayonnaise

1/8 cup sour cream

4 Tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese (I've used fresh and the fake jarred kind, and both are fine for this recipe)

1 slice of good wheat bread toasted and finely ground into crumbs (or you can use a handful of crackers crumbled)

1 tsp dried basil

1 clove garlic, minced (dried garlic powder is fine too)

the juice of half a lemon

salt and pepper

4 tilapia fillets

Mix all of the ingredients (other than the fish, salt, and pepper) in a bowl, just stirring with a spoon to combine. Meanwhile, turn your oven's broiler on, and line your broiling pan with aluminum foil. Spray with cooking spray. Salt and pepper both sides of the tilapia, and broil for 3 minutes. Turn the tilapia over and broil another 2 minutes. Evenly spread each fillet with the cheese/mayo/spice mixture, and broil for another 2 minutes. Depending on the thickness of the fish, you may need to add or subtract time. But this timing has worked perfectly every time for me. Serve immediately. Yum!

The side dish pictured is another favorite of ours. It's another quick dish. And, you can add diced chicken to make it a complete meal.

Teriyaki Veggies

1 bag of stir-fry veggies (frozen)

1 small bag of broccoli florets (frozen)

1/2 bag of bell peppers (frozen)

your favorite teriyaki marinade (1/8 - 1/4 cup)

1-inch slice of fresh ginger, grated

juice of 1 orange

1 clove of garlic, minced

honey, to taste

salt and pepper, to taste

Steam (using the method of your choosing) all of the veggies. Meanwhile, add the rest of the ingredients to a small saucepan. Heat to a simmer, and reduce slightly. This will taste fine without any reduction, but I like the thicker consistency. After roughly 3 minutes of bubbling, taste-test and adjust flavors accordingly. Pour sauce over the veggies, and stir to coat.

Ribbon Blanket Tutorial

I'm back after an unintentional extended holiday. I've had good intentions about maintaining this poor neglected blog, but life is busy with a toddler. I so appreciate all of you faithful blog readers who are still commenting and browsing. I am sitting here while my husband is at work, my little girl is in bed, and the rain is pouring down. I've got a steaming cup of (decaf) coffee and a chocolate chip cookie, and I'm ready to jump into blogging and scheduling a ton of blogs that I have been dreaming up. First up is a tutorial for making ribbon blankets for babies:

First of all, decide on a color scheme for your blanket. You'll need ribbon, polar fleece, and stiff felt (if you're going to personalize yours). You'll also need coordinating thread, straight pins, and your sewing machine.

Getting started:
There's really no one way to make a ribbon blanket. I like using lots of different colors, widths, and textures of ribbons to give the baby a variety of tactile experiences. You can decide how many ribbons you'd like per side. I typically use at least 5 per side, so 20 lengths of ribbon total. You can do 5 different ribbons and repeat them on all 4 sides, or you can get as crazy as 20 different ribbons. Since I've been making these for so many years, I've developed quite a stash of ribbons, so I tend to use a ton of different ones on each blanket. You'll cut your ribbon into 4-inch lengths.
I always personalize my blankets with a first initial. To do this, find a font you like on the computer. Enlarge the letter to your desired size, print it out, and use double-sided tape to stick it right-side-up to a piece of stiff felt. Cut the letter out with sharp scissors, and peel the paper off the letter.
The last thing you need to prepare is the fleece. I use 14 inch squares. You'll need to cut two identical squares of fleece.
Using one of the pieces of felt, attach your initial in your desired position. As a side note: my sister has made some precious ribbon blankets with an embroidered initial. That would be a great idea if this initial is not your style. To attach the letter, I pin it in place and very slowly machine stitch as close to the edge as possible lifting the presser foot and turning the fabric as needed. I pull all of the threads to the back of the fleece and tie them in knots. Next, lay out your ribbon in the desired order for the edges of the blankets. Here I've chosen 12 different ribbons and have cut two of each into 4-inch lengths. That way two sides will be the same.Begin pinning your ribbons around the blanket. I line up one piece of the fleece next to a ruler so I can see the middle line in order to evenly-space the ribbons. Fold each ribbon in half to form a loop. Then line the raw edge up with the raw edge of the fabric. The loops should be toward the inside of the fleece square.Continue around the entire blanket until you've used all of your ribbon.Next you will top this piece of fleece with the other square matching up the edges as exactly as possible. You'll be making a ribbon sandwich here, so make sure the ribbons are between the two layers.Next, pin around the outside edge of the fleece square making sure to catch both layers in the pins.

You are going to sew a 1/2 inch seam all the way around the square's edge leaving a 4-inch long section to turn it right-side out. Since there are so many straight pins, and I have a toddler running around during this process, I tend to lose my place and forget where to stop and start. In order to help my poor brain, I have a trick. I put a green-headed pin where I'm supposed to start sewing and a red-headed pin where I'm supposed to stop sewing. Then I make sure all of the pins in between are a different color. See?Start at your green pin, and sew 1/2 inch inside of the square all the way around backstitching at each corner and when you start and stop. You can see my backstitching and the opening I've left to turn.Remove the pins, and clip the corners to make it easier to square them once they're turned. Make sure you do not cut into the seam.Reach into the opening, and pull out all of the straight pins from each ribbon. You will most likely have one or two ribbons that are not sewn down because they're in the 4-inch opening you left. Leave those pins in. When all of the pins are removed, turn your blanket right-side out. Use a bone folder or a knitting needle to square the corners. At this point I always tug gently on each ribbon to make sure it is secure. You can see the top two middle ribbons are still pinned as that is where my opening is located.Turn down your opening to match the rest of the blanket, tuck in your ribbon, and pin well.Now, using a decorative stitch and contrasting thread, sew 1/4 inch seam all the way around the blanket edge. This will not only close the opening you left, but it will reinforce each ribbon sewn in to make it more secure. As long as all of your ribbon is secure, you're done!There is no limit to the colors, themes, sizes, etc. to these blankets. Use a 5 inch square of fleece and a handful of ribbons to make a small blanket that can be hooked with a clip to a car seat or stroller. Or you can make a large lap blanket with ribbons down only one edge. Really, there is a lot of room for creativity, and no two of my blankets have looked the same.

Good luck, and please feel free to ask questions and share links to YOUR blankets!