Remaking Capris with a Lettuce Hem

My daughter and I share one really annoying problem: we both can’t fit into any pants.  She is 11 years old, and fits into a size 8 except for the length.  Come summertime, this problem is generally easy to solve since I crop off all of her jeans and make them into shorts.  (Adding length, on the other hand, is a real pain.) So for today’s project, I am going to show you how I refashioned a size 8 pair of pants into a pair of capris.  This is more of a tutorial rather than a remake.  I don’t own a serger machine, so I have to make do on a regular machine.

Refashioning capris with a lettuce hem #upcycle #refashion #sewing

First step is to make them shorter. If you can see, these pants also had a bleach spot on them.  The easiest way to hem any pants is to fold them in half and then fold one pant leg over where you want to hem, making sure to make the fold perpendicular to the existing hem, since pant legs tend to be slightly angled.

Refashioning capris with a lettuce hem #upcycle #refashion #sewing

Make the cut. Remember to leave a bit of room (don’t make them too short) for the hemming.

Refashioning capris with a lettuce hem #upcycle #refashion #sewing

Now, sew them with a zig zag stitch which is close together.  It is important to stretch the material on the “to be sewn” part.  Since my sewing machine goes up to down (I push the material away from me), the part that is stretched is the part that is closest to me.  It is also important NOT to stretch the material too much on the other part, just using your fingers to guide it through the machine but not stretching it.

Refashioning capris with a lettuce hem #upcycle #refashion #sewing

Next, cut edging off.

Refashioning capris with a lettuce hem #upcycle #refashion #sewing

And we are done!! I did a better job on one pant leg over the other but since they are capris, I can redo them if they look bad on her.

Refashioning capris with a lettuce hem #upcycle #refashion #sewing

Some more pictures:

Refashioning capris with a lettuce hem #upcycle #refashion #sewing

With love,


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Let me know what you think in the comments.


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8 responses to “Remaking Capris with a Lettuce Hem”

  1. April Tuell Avatar

    These turned out nice, I wish I was better at sewing. Thank you so much for sharing with Saturday Spotlight. Enjoy the rest of your week, and hope to see you at the party again soon.

    April

  2. April Tuell Avatar

    These turned out nice, I wish I was better at sewing. Thank you so much for sharing with Saturday Spotlight. Enjoy the rest of your week, and hope to see you at the party again soon.

    April

  3. […] Making a lettuce hem, use the markings on the back as a guide.  You can’t really see it, but I put a postie note on the right hand side of my machine to make a guide line for the sewing machine. […]

  4. […] Making a lettuce hem, use the markings on the back as a guide.  You can’t really see it, but I put a postie note on the right hand side of my machine to make a guide line for the sewing machine. […]

  5. Kim E. Lefebvre Avatar
    Kim E. Lefebvre

    This is a fabulous idea and thanks to you kindly for the opportunity. thanks for sharing a lovely post.

  6. Kim E. Lefebvre Avatar
    Kim E. Lefebvre

    This is a fabulous idea and thanks to you kindly for the opportunity. thanks for sharing a lovely post.

  7. […] Basically, this controls how much fabric is fed through per stitch. You can use different feeds to create a ruffle-like effect. You can also create a lettuce edge. […]

  8. […] Basically, this controls how much fabric is fed through per stitch. You can use different feeds to create a ruffle-like effect. You can also create a lettuce edge. […]

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