- Fashion, Tailoring and Alterations
Yes, you can tailor your jeans. Let me show you where is possible.
Tall Paul
April 24, 2022
Yes, you can tailor jeans.
Tailoring your jeans is the brightest option for altering them for long-term use. You can shrink your jeans, which will take less time and cost less money. However, you can’t be 100% sure you will get the results you want because the denim may shrink in areas you did not want to be affected.
To get the precise length and size you desire, take your jeans to a tailor or learn how to sew them yourself. Many YouTube videos show you the step-by-step process needed, and in a short period (and after a few ruined jeans), you can be a pro in no time!
A second option is to go to your local dry cleaner. Dry cleaners will often have altering services to offer on-top of cleaning your jeans. Learn more about how long a dry cleaner takes and how much a dry cleaner costs.
If you are tailoring the jeans yourself, let us start you on the right path and know how to measure the inseam on your jeans.
Table of Contents
Can You Tailor Jeans?
Yes, you can tailor jeans. Here are some helpful areas around any jean altering.
1. How much does it cost to tailor your jeans?
The cost of tailoring your jeans varies with where you live, the quality of tailor you take them to, and how in-depth the alterations are.
The lowest you can pay when altering your jeans: $20
The highest you can pay when altering your jeans: $150
Like any other profession, some people have been around a long time and have spent countless hours honing their craft. There will be tailors who charge a higher per hour rate, which may not be what you need for a simple alteration.
However, if you need to make a significant change to your jeans, it may be worth paying the extra cost to get it done right and keep your favourite pair of jeans around for a few more years.
2. Can you tailor waist on jeans?
Yes, you can tailor the waist of your jeans!
Tailoring the waist of your jeans (making smaller or stretching) is one of the most common reasons people alter their jeans. The second most common reason is to hem your jeans.
For both these kinds of alterations, it is crucial to understand that you can always take away fabric and make your jeans smaller or shorter. It is next to impossible to add or extend your jeans!
If you are going to tailor your jeans at home, do not cut off excess fabric as you take in your jeans. Instead, fold the fabric and hide it inside your jeans. By doing this, you will always be able to un-stitch the new seams you made and let out your jeans when needed in the future.
Tools you will need to tailor your jeans by yourself:
- Sewing machine
- Sewing tape
- Sewing needle
- Thread
- Sewing scissors
- Chalk
- Flat working surface.
You can also learn how to make jeans tighter.
3. Can you tailor jeans that are too short?
No, you can’t tailor jeans that are too short.
You can only subtract when it comes to altering any piece of clothing from jeans, t-shirts, sweatpants, joggers, or anything else you have in your closet. Not add!
If you need to lengthen your jeans, the best option you have is to learn how to stretch out jeans.
Clothes You Can Tailor
Over time you will want to alter the majority of your clothes. Our bodies are constantly changing, and throwing away your favourite t-shirt just because it doesn’t fit your new shape isn’t needed.
- Can you Tailor Joggers?
- Can you Tailor Sweatpants?
- Can you Tailor a T-Shirt?
FAQ
Yes it is worth it to alter your jeans. Altering your jeans will allow you to extend the wear of your jeans as your style adapts. Instead of getting rid of the pair of jeans that don’t match your style anymore, taking them to a tailor to alter them will breath new life into them. And will cost a fraction of the cost of a new pair of jeans.
To make your jeans tighter you can take them to a tailor or shrink them yourself. By shrinking them at home, you will have not much say in what parts get tight and by how much. So I suggest you take them to your tailor to get altered.
To make jeans less baggy you will need to take them in by either shrinking them or getting the tailored. Tailoring your jeans will allow you to choose what parts you want less baggy, and by how much.
Written and reviewed by
Tall Paul
Paul Marlow, standing at an impressive 6'7 (201cm) and weighing 225lb (102kg), is a mental health speaker, fashion expert, and ex-athlete who excels at helping tall men find well-fitting clothing and teaching them how to style it effectively. As a model in the fashion and film industries, Paul shares his expertise in tall men's fashion, offering valuable advice on measurements, tailoring, and alterations. In addition, he founded Never Alone, an organization that provides mental health and therapy inspiration, and started the Mental Growth Newsletter to support those facing mental health challenges, drawing from his own experiences.
