While skinny jeans have their place in the fashion world, flared jeans made their stamp in the 90s, and they don't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. But if you've been riding the skinny jeans wave and are looking to switch things up, you can turn your skinny jeans into flares. We have looked into the easiest method to do this.
Here are the steps to turn your skinny jeans into flare jeans:
- Decide on the new width of the jeans
- Measure the jeans
- Open the seam of the pants
- Take out the bottom hems
- Measure the panel fabric
- Stitch on the panels
- Re-hem the bottom
- Try them on
The style of your jeans says a lot about your taste and your personality as a whole. Sometimes you may want to wear skinny jeans, and sometimes you may prefer a wider pants leg. But your random style changes don't have to come at the expense of your monthly budget. This is why we've created this post to show you how you can take a pair of skinny jeans and turn them into flares in less than an hour. Please continue reading to learn how to do it.
This article may include affiliate links and elements that were carefully created by our team using advanced ai to help you envision the best style advice.
Steps To Turn Skinny Jeans Into Flare Jeans
Before starting your DIY project, take a minute to look over the things that you'll need. If you've never altered your own clothes before, you may need to make a small shopping list for a few everyday sewing items.
Things you'll need:
- Sewing thread
- Sewing pins
- Sewing chalk
- A Ruler
- Sewing tape measure
- Freezer paper
- Seam ripper
- Scissors
- Pen and paper
1. Decide on the new width of the jeans
The first thing you'll need to do before you even touch your pants is deciding how wide you want the legs to flare out. When doing so, consider the length of the pants and remember that taking the flare out too far may cause the pants to appear shorter when you wear them. You can extend the pants to make them longer if you have extra fabric that will go well with them.
2. Measure the jeans
Next, measure the length of the pant's legs and the current width. When measuring the width, start at about 10 inches up from the bottom of the knee, as this is typically wearing the pants leg will begin to flare out.
Mark the width you want the new flare to have, and note how much extra fabric you'll need to cut for the difference (with an extra inch for the hem). Write down all of your measurements on a piece of paper.
3. Open the seam of the pants
After you have your measurements down, take your same river and apply it to both seams on the pants leg. If you don't have a seam ripper, you can also use a pair of scissors to clip the thread loose carefully. Be sure not to cut the fabric during this process, or you'll be dealing with it as an entirely new issue.
Check out the seam ripper kit on Amazon.
4. Take out the bottom hems
The next thing you'll want to do is remove the hems from the bottom of the pants leg. Use your seam ripper to remove the seams as well--again, working carefully as not to cut the pants in the process. When you remove the hem, you'll notice that you have about half an inch to 1 inch of additional length.
Take a look at the embroidery scissors on Amazon.
5. Measure the panel fabric
Next, take your panel fabric and place it on a flat surface such as an ironing board or work table. Be sure to lay down your freezer paper first. You want your panel piece to taper down anywhere from 1 1/2 to 2 inches at its top. To match this, you will want the bottom of the fabric to be anywhere from 3 to 6 inches for a decent flare. Next, measure the height of the seam on the pants leg and then add 2 inches to it.
Then, cut out your panel pieces according to the same measurements as the pants. If it helps, you can place the pants down on top of the flat surface and then place the freezer paper and panel fabric on top of them. Next, mark the panel fill-in areas with chalk on the freezer paper. Once you have your panel pieces measured, cut them out using your scissors.
6. Stitch on the fabric panels
Next, turn the pants inside out and use pins to place the panel fabric between the open seams. Be sure that there is at least an inch of addition of space to allow for the hem when you stitch the panel onto the jeans. After placing all of the pins on the panel fabric, use your needle and thread to sew it onto the jeans or use a sewing machine. It's best to use zigzag stitches to prevent the seams from unraveling. Perform this step on both pants legs.
Check out this sewing machine on Amazon.
7. Re-hem the bottom
After adding the panel fabric, it's time to re-hem the bottom of the pants. For this step, fold up the bottom of the pants leg and the panel fabric about an inch and then stitch a seam using your sewing machine or a needle and thread.
8. Try them on
After you have sewed the hem to the bottom of the pants, try them on to check the new flare and the length. If you need to make additional alterations, open up the seams and use your measuring tape to adjust as needed.
Read more details about this measurement tape on Amazon.
Need more of a visual? Check out this DIY video to see how to turn your skinny jeans into flares:
How do you make flare jeans out of skinny jeans?
The easiest and quickest way to make flare jeans out of skinny jeans is to cut open the seams of the skinny jeans midway between the knee and the bottom area of jeans and the bottom hem. After that, you will need to cut out panel fabric to fill in the area for the flare. It's essential to measure the width of the desired flare to ensure that you fit the panel fabric properly.
To do this, it helps to have a measuring tape to avoid having to make additional alterations. Once you measure the panel fabric, you'll need to sew it into the open seams on the side of the jeans at the desired width.
How can I make my jeans more flared?
If you want to make your jeans more flared, you'll need to open up the seams on the bottom area of the pants legs as well as the bottom hem. You'll then need to fill in the area with panel fabric. Also, if you want a simple flare, you can take a pair of scissors and cut upwards from the bottom sides of the jeans about 1 to 2 inches.
Is Bootcut the same as Bell Bottom?
Bootcut jeans are not the same as bell-bottom jeans. Bell bottom jeans were popularized in the 60s and had a very wide flare starting about 10 inches up from the bottom of the pants leg. Bootcut jeans originated in the 90s, and these pants have more of an even flare, starting from 6 and 7 inches up from the bottom of the jeans. This slight flare makes it easier to wear jeans over boots and other high-top footwear, thus the name.
Can you hem bell bottoms?
You can hem bell bottoms by removing the hem with a seam ripper and folding the pants leg up to stitch a new hem. However, you'll want to measure the pants first, as this can cause them to hang differently when you wear them. If the bell bottoms are dragging excessively on the ground when you walk, try measuring the pants and then taking off a few inches just enough to where they touch the bottom of your foot--this way, they'll still hang over your shoes without looking too short.
Wrapping Things Up
If you've found the perfect fitted pair of jeans but prefer them to be flared instead of skinny, you can alter them yourself. Even if you've never altered pants before, you'll find that making your own flare jeans is relatively simple. You'll be happy that you put your new sewing skills to use, and you may learn a few things about apparel alterations in the process. Good luck!
Be sure to check out some of our other posts before you go:
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