Hemming

[FoolioABC]

Hi all,

I got my Sammies hemmed recently, and the guy said he could do chainstitching (some may remember my thread, meh) but of course he could not. What he did instead was cut away a portion of the leg and reattached the bottom, original hem. I'm not complaining about the job he did, because it looks fine and you can't even tell unless you look very very closely. However, I'm worried that this will fade/shrink/wear strangely as time goes on. I want these jeans to last awhile and was worried that this hem might be a bit weak or look a bit strange later on. Anyone have experience with this? Do you think I should still have these jeans rehemmed at BiG or just some random tailor w/regular stitching somewhere or something?

Thanks in advance!

[Guest engteach]

I always have my jeans hemmed, and my tailor does really nice work; each hem she's done has held up well and I've noticed no weird side effects, even on my dry denim. So, I guess it depends on how well the hem was reattached. If it appears to be sturdy, I think they'll be fine. Granted, this is only my second post here so I would understand if you'd prefer a more experienced opinion.

[FoolioABC]

No way man, any reply is appreciated!

*high five for fellow n00b*

[ang_kangkong]

I've been in your situation. But I knew what the guy was gonna do, although he didn't do a good job. They have different names for that shit: Euro hem, original hem, super hem, California hem. Anyway, my guy did a bad job of it, plus there was extra fabric on the top of the hem that I was afraid would make weird wear marks much later on. I just had the jeans chainstitched at BiG and never looked back. Although, since the first hem job was where I wanted the hem to be, Gordon had a hard time and the lenght's just a tad short of being ideal.

[FoolioABC]

bump... does anyone else have experiences with this when it is done well? (ang's experience seemed bad because of a poor job)

[Panda-san]

I sent my Oni Reds back to BiG to be chainstitched, and the service and quality was great. The Chainstitch itself looks very sturdy, and much more appealing than a standard stitch. They were quick, too. After arriving at their shop, I had them hemmed and back in four or five days.

I'd deffinitely recommend BiG for your hemming needs, even if you didn't buy from them and have to pay for the service.

[sneakeraddict]

apart from the mere aesthetic side of chainstitching and the fact it is historically more accurate for repros, can anyone tell me why it is so much preferred?

I think I need to get some hemming done soon, and am just a bt surprised and intrigued about the amount I read about cuff hemming, when I am not sure it makes any difference in terms of major visual effect or long term sturdiness or quality?

[mcflip]

There was already a huge thread about this (where I got my info) but a chainstitch keeps its tension but is stretchable. That's why early Levis have them not only on the hems, but on the insides of the legs, etc. A chainstitched hem is also conducive to the "roping" effect you see on the bottom of vintage jeans.

[FoolioABC]

Uhm the thing is my jeans technically still have the chainstitch at the "bottom hem". It's just that about have a centimeter above it is where the tailor cut the jeans and reattached them, so there's a slight ridge that you can't really see. I can't really see them now, but I was wondering if over time this would wear differently/shrink differently than usual.

[coleslawyum]

If it's raw, I suspect it will shrink real funky. Can you take off the stitching yourself? Also, is it long enough where tailor cut it, to fold a cuff without being too short? You need about an inch to have nice hem. So whatever your inseam is, just add an inch to have a correct measurement. Also since they are raw Samurai's they will shrink around 2-3 inches, so you have to add more to that. If you bought them at BiG, they will do them for free. They do quite a nice job, and they have an official vintage Union Special chain-stitch machine. If you didn't buy from them, you have to ask them how much they charge, although I don't think they provide this service. 45RPM does it for 20$ and they also do an excellent job.

[FoolioABC]

I think I should have got most of the shrinking out of the way, I did 2 long ass hot soaks. Will they still shrink funny? I'm not sure if I have enough length to get another hem... I asked him to hem it long, but I think he hemmed it a bit short anyway

[coleslawyum]

Usually raw denim still shrinks until after maybe 10 washes, but in smaller increments. I have the "original hem" done only on my washed jeans. But they have already been washed when I bought them and I washed them like 20 times after that. They don't really warp anymore and are pretty unoticable. I guess if you're afraid of them getting messed up just don't wash in water, just dry clean them. Or iron them afterwards with a lot of starch if you want to do a soak. Either way it'll be months before you make that decision, being that you'll need a lot of time to break them in. So, my suggestion would be to just enjoy them.

[grape ape!]

The one (and only) time I got a pair hemmed, the broad sewed my selvedge shut...and instead of "matching the stitching" as promised, she gave me some bright yellow shit...

I ended up using them bitches as work jeans...

[Guest xtreme588]

i suggest next time you go to denim doctors

they did a dope job on my sams