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Skinny Leg Into Wide Leg Jeans Refashion
Skinny Leg Into Wide Leg Jeans Refashion
"Each one of us probably has at least a pair of jeans or pants that do not fit anymore or some skinny jeans that look a bit outdated. So, while being Instagram and Pinterest inspired, I turned my once favorite skinny jeans into wide-leg comfortable ones using side denim panels.
This tutorial which is beginner friendly will give you step-by-step advice on giving your tight jeans/pants a new life using denim/fabric scraps you may have around."
Project TypeMake a Project
Time to CompleteIn an evening
Sewn byMachine
Materials List
- Jeans to refashion
- fabric/denim scraps
- sewing thread
- sewing machine
- seam ripper
- iron
- pins
Instructions
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First, get comfortable to spend some time seam-ripping your jeans. Keep close a seam ripper and some scissors.
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Start at the bottom of the leg and with a seam ripper open the hem of the jeans so it is easier to go through the side seam. In my case, I opened the hem fully on both legs since I wanted jeans with a raw-edge hem.
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Open the side seams of the jeans on each side up to the waistband and cut through it. Tip If the jeans fit and feel great around your waist do not cut through the waistband. Keep the waistband in place and you can add the side panels only to turn the skinny leg into a wide leg without cutting the waistband area. But this tutorial only explains the addition of the side panels starting from the waistband.
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Clear out any threads on the edges of the side seams and iron if necessary.
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Preparation of the side panels This step is a bit tricky since it needs to be defined how much side panel is enough for your jeans. The easiest way to do this is to lay flat a pair of jeans/pants that fit you perfectly.
Next lay on top the jeans you are working on and measure the difference on the waistband (refer to the sketch below). For example, if that difference is 6 cm then you know that you can add two panels with 3 cm width to each side.
But you also need to add seam allowance on both sides of the panel. In this case, you end up with two panels each of them 5 cm wide (3 cm addition to the waist + 2 cm seam allowance). The length of the panels is the same as the length of the jeans + 2-3 cm extra. -
Also is up to you to define if you want that the width of the panels to be the same up to the hem of the leg, or if you want to increase the width starting around the hips area. I went with the second option and my panels looked similar to the sketch.
