Things You'll Need
Straight-leg jeans
Scissors
Measuring tape
Paper
Pencil
Fabric
Matching thread
Needle
If you are tired of the look of your old jeans, you can turn them into colorful bell bottoms with just a small amount of effort. Turning jeans into bell bottoms is a straightforward project that can be handled by a novice sewer.
Step 1
Open up the hem around the cuffs of the jeans using your scissors to pick apart the seams.
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Step 2
Cut open the seams on the outside of each leg up to the knee.
Step 3
Measure the distance from the bottom of the jeans up to the end of the cut.
Step 4
Draw a triangle on a piece of paper. Two of the triangle's sides will be the length of the seam measurement. The third side will be the amount of extra space that you want in the pants. You can make this measurement anywhere from 4 inches to 12 inches to get a good bell-bottom look.
Step 5
Cut out the triangle.
Step 6
Cut out two triangles from your fabric, using the fabric triangle as a pattern.
Step 7
Sew the triangles into the slits that you have made along either pant leg.
Step 8
Hem your jeans by turning the cuffs under twice and sewing the seam flat.
Tip
Many sewing machines have issues handling the weight of denim. If you are going to sew the jeans on a sewing machine, make sure that they are capable of sewing denim.
Bright floral prints are a great choice for the fabric insets in this project.
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