Cropping Skinny Jeans with Raw Edges

Earlier this week I took a pair of shears to a pair of skinny jeans that I wasn't wearing often and cut them above the ankle.  It wasn't as easy as just cutting and calling it a day. I have some experience in sewing, so I used chalk, a sewing gauge, pins, a good pair of shears, and a needle & thread.  I kept the edges unfinished, but I have another pair of the same style of jeans that are white, so I want to do a finished edge on that pair, probably sometime next week.  The jeans that I altered were by BDG, and I bought them a year or two ago at Urban Outfitters. I think they are the same ones as these:

photo credit: Urbanoutfitters.com

Step 1: Put on your jeans and wear them for at least an hour.  Skinny jeans usually need to be adjusted during the day due to sitting and walking, so wearing them for a little while to find the ideal fit will lead to accurate length. This is my starting point:

Step 2: Fold the bottom of both jean legs upward and mark where you want to cut.  To determine your ideal length, look in a mirror after folding your jeans.  Wear it around for 15 minutes or so then look again to see if you are truly satisfied with the length.  Use a piece of chalk to mark the bottom of the fold on in the inner and out seams of one leg.  You can use chalk that is from a fabric store or even a WASHABLE chalk that kids use.

Step 3: Take off your jeans and turn them inside out.  Lay the pants flat on the ground or on a table.  On the leg where you put the chalk marks, measure the distance from them to the bottom on each seam (I used a sewing gauge, but a ruler or tape measure would work).  Make sure that the fabric is smooth and pin above the chalk marks and along the seams to ensure that one side won't move out of place while you cut.

Step 4: Cut that leg using a good pair of shears, keeping your cutting hand as even with the table/floor as possible. I cut above my chalk line, at 5 and 1/8 inches.

Step 5: Put your pants back on and check out if you like the way that pant leg looks. Satisfied with the length? Move on to the next leg.  If it can go shorter, cut again, and remember to measure and mark with chalk where you want to cut. 

Step 6: Again, while inside out, measure and mark the second leg where you want to cut.  Above the chalk mark was 5 and 1/8 inches, so I made the new chalk mark above the ruler when it measured 5 inches.  Repeat pinning and cutting correctly.

Step 7: Almost there! Right-side-out, the outside seam is not anchored. So I took a piece of dark thread with a study needle and with tiny stitches, attached it to the inside of the jeans, trying not to go through to the right side(the part that shows when you wear the jeans). 

Good luck with making your cropped jeans out of a pair of skinnys! For my white pair, I will probably do the "French cuff" way of folding it under, but I will probably stitch it down using my sewing machine.  We'll see. Sorry for the poor pictures, if and when I crop the white pants, I will use my actual camera instead of my flashless blackberry! (By the way, the nail polish I am wearing on my hands is Dr.'s Remedy in Mellow Mauve and I can't remember what was on my feet)