Shrunken Jeans to Cute Summer Capris

I was going through my closet today switching a majority of my jeans out for capris. Unfortunately, I have very few fitting capris post-baby. Let's be honest, one too tight pair that I squeeze into and one fitting pair. And that is it. Wouldn't be a big deal if I also wore shorts but capris are really all I wear in the summer. Even more upsetting were the disappointing jeans at the bottom of the pile. You know the ones I am talking about. That pair that fit great when you bought them but then suddenly all of the length disappeared after their first ride in the dryer. And then this mom on a budget had a brilliant idea!

I tried on my awkward length jeans and marked where they should be cut for capris, I measured out an extra 4 inches before marking to allow for a 2 inch cuff. 

I laid the pant leg on a cutting mat and used my rotary cutter to create a straight cut. 

I then used that leg as a template for cutting the other leg.

I then tried the jeans on again to be sure it all looked right. But the flare in the leg just looked funky. I grabbed a safety pin and marked where I thought the pants should fit closer to the leg.

I then removed the jeans and measured how far from the seam the safety pin was. I removed the pin and turned the pants inside out. I measured out the distance from the seam again and began pinning all the way down the leg. I tapered it off the closer to the hip I got. 

I then stitched along my markings, removed the pins and tried the pants on. My seam was a little wonky at the top, it didn't taper enough so I quickly fixed the taper. 

I then re-stitched over the seam for reinforcement. Then another seam 1/4 inch away from this seam. I cut the excess denim off and then zig-zag stitched the frayed edging.

I then folded the jeans over each other and used the finished leg as a template for the unfinished leg. I marked the pant leg and stitched the other leg identically to the other one. 

I didn't love my zig-zag stitching and knew it would be showing in the cuff so I cut some small pieces of crocheted lace to cover the seams and stitched it into place. 

Finally, I folded my cuffs and pinned them into place so I could place periodic stitches to hold them permanently into place.

And that was it! Only took about an hour and a half.

I now have a pefectly fitting pair of capris for this summer! I am going to be seriously digging through my closet this week for more projects.   :)

Happy sewing!

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