Wide Jeans to Skinny Fitted Jeans

All of us lived through the mess of the early 2000s. As a result, we might have some pants that fit a little too loose. By following the steps in this Instructable, you will turn wide-leg jeans into fitted jeans in under an hour (unless they're JNCO jeans. No amount of time can help those.) . This can be done with 8th-grade-"Family and Consumer Science" sewing skills and a few of mom's materials. You can save money and time by following this process instead of going to a store, plus the fit you get will be better than generally-sized pants will ever give you. Time to get those pants out of the back of your closet and start!

The materials you will need are:

• Loose Jeans: The pair of pants that you want to change the fit of.
• Fitted jeans: Pants that already fit as you like
• Thread TIP: Thread in a color contrasting the Loose jeans will make the following steps easier

• Chalk
• Needle
• Sewing Machine

Turn the loose fitting jeans inside-out and lay them flat on a flat surface with the front side facing up. Make sure that the pants are completely flat and that no part is sticking up. The pants should look like the picture, with the legs open as need to allow them to lay flat.

TIP: It is advised that the pants are ironed before proceeding. This will make the end result much nicer and the process simpler

Also inside out, lay the fitted jeans over the loose jeans. make sure that the two pairs are flat. Line up the insides of the legs and the zippers.

In chalk, outline the outer edges of the fitted jean legs. Follow the legs up to the start of the hip as shown in the picture. Make sure all the lines are smooth.

From the previous step, you should have your outline up to the hip. Now, instead of following the fitted jeans, remove them and make the rest of the line straight. This line must go to the beginning of the belt line as shown by the green line on the picture.

Following the chalk lines, hand stitch the loose fitting jeans.

TIP: This is step is to try out the fit. Thus, the stitching shouldn't be too tight

Now that the chalk line is stitched, try on the jeans.

check for fit on the circled areas in the picture:

• Hip
• Inner legs
• Calf muscles

With the sewing machine, stitch over the chalk lines if the fit is adequate.

Note: It might be required that the chalk line is moved. This can be easily done. Just pull out the hand stitching and re-trace. The second line should be very close to the first and end at the same place. The picture shows both the previous and a new line.

Now that you machine-stitched, try on your new pair of jeans one final time. Check for fit in the three previously mentioned areas

Turn the pants inside-out again and cross stitch the excess fabric.

TIP: You can cut of the remaining fabric after the cross stitch if desired.

Once you have cross stitched you are finished. Your jeans are now securely fitted and ready to be worn. They will fit better than any pants you could have ever bought and you will have the satisfaction of knowing you saved money and did it by yourself. No one will be able to tell that they are salvaged pants that you would have otherwise thrown out. Note that the fabric on most wide leg jeans is not as elastic. You might have trouble getting your foot through the opening but that can be overcome with minimal effort.