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Yes! I am so happy with how this re-fashion turned out. I have been longing for mint jeans (along with the rest of the English speaking-world) all spring. So I decided to do something about it. And that something was not spending $60 on up for the available options. See my tutorial below!
First I bought a pair of white jeans for $6 at Savers. They weren't skinny jeans, just plain old straight leg.
So I quickly fixed that problem with seriously basic sewing. Which I'll explain:
I bought them because they fit in the waist and that's about all I cared about. To be clear: I did not alter the waist at all. Just the legs from mid-thigh down to the bottom.
All I did was turn the white pants inside-out, lay a pair of skinny jeans I had that fit well on top of them. I pinned the white ones right on the line of the inside where I wanted to sew them up. I sewed the straight line along where I had pinned. Then cut the excess fabric off, and they were skinny.
After that was done I used Tulip brand dye in the shade 'Green Vert' to turn them mint green.
The dye was $2 after coupon at Hobby Lobby. Just follow the directions on the package... Instead of putting in a sink or bucket like the package told me, I soaked them in my washing machine. No mess! I opted for a lighter mint so I only kept mine in for about 15 mins, but you can go pretty dark if you want to, just by leaving it in longer. And, no, nothing else turned green after that - the washing machine rinsed out on it's own.
Cue angels singing.
Here I am, uneasily taking pictures of myself with self-timer so that I can show this to you all. I am truly happy to do it. I just don't know what faces to make? Where should I put my arms? Etc.
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Update: This doesn't seem to work exactly the same for everyone. Some people report having their jeans turn lime green, and some of them have countered that by re-dying with a small amount of teal blue dye. I have not tried this personally but hopefully that helps if yours do not turn out as minty! :) Also, I am happy to answer questions, but if the answer is written in the post above I will not answer it in the comments. Please read the entire post before asking questions.
Paulette K.
Did you sew on the inseam or the outer seam? And you would have to blend where you started sewing at the top? Needs a little more explaining. Thanks
Sarah
Hey Paulette! I'm sorry, this post is about 8 years old and I can't even remember exactly what I did anymore. When I wrote it, I was brand new to blogging and didn't realize how many details needed to be added to a tutorial.
M.
May I give a suggestion? The preferred way is with the inseam. Follow the line of your thighs, knees, and calves. Allow yourself at least a half inch breathing room. There are plenty of YouTube sites that can reaffirm or give you a different approach.
Cathy
Thank you for the tip....I have a pair of pants that really need this! And as soon as I can find the subscribe button I'll follow y'all.
shadow creation
wow lovely photos and styling I like It. Thanks for sharing.
Jessica
You are so welcome!
Mary
Me encanto la reduccion de las piernas. Quiero aprender
Graciad
Fran
How do I tighten those baggy dress pants.
Lisa
You could always test the color first with the scraps after "skinny-ING" your jeans.
Jessica
Genius! Great idea.
Sara P.
I wouldn't take the time to do this (probably) because I'd be scared of screwing them up but you are BRILLIANT! Altering the jeans is a great idea!
Dontrepresentme
I'd suggest putting the jeans on inside-out, having a friend pin them and try sitting and walking around with them before committing to sewing. Sure, you can always rip out a seam, but who wants to have to do that?
its me
Put one arm on the hip and let the other hang down. Then on the side that the hand is hanging down bend that knee and relax. For example if your left arm is on your hip then your right arm is hanging down. So your right leg is bent. And your left leg is straight.