Help! Can I change jeans from bootcut to straight leg???

[Tabak to the Future]

So as a Christmas gift I got a pair of Nudie Regular Ralfs. I don't really like bootcut jeans so much though, and I'm thinking about getting them altered from the knee down to make them straight at the bottom.

Is this possible to do without screwing up the seams? Any suggestions?

[nairb49]

take them to a good tailor, they should be ok.

if you want to keep the selvage outseam, which im'assuming you do, it'll be harder, longer and more expensive to do, plus it'll end up a bit off if you taper from the inseam.

nairb49

[Tabak to the Future]

OK. Thanks loads.

What do you mean it'll end up a bit off if it's tapered from the inseam?

Will it be uneven or something?

[WhoGotMeIntoThis]

Quote:

take them to a good tailor, they should be ok.

if you want to keep the selvage outseam, which im'assuming you do, it'll be harder, longer and more expensive to do, plus it'll end up a bit off if you taper from the inseam.

--- Original message by nairb49 on Feb 14, 2006 08:35 PM

He didn't mention that these were selvedge denim. Taking the outseam in a bit from the knee down should not be hard, or expensive for a tailor to do.

[Tabak to the Future]

Sorry... I forgot to mention that they are selvage. Does it make a difference if you take it in from the inseam or outseam?

They're quite long already, so I'll probably have to roll them

[XX]

if they are selvage, the sideseam is alreay straight so all theyd have to do is straighten out your inseam which shouldnt be hard at all (as long as its not a felled seam) but anythings possible

Edited by XX on Feb 15, 2006 at 02:33 AM

[triniboy27]

I did mine - pics are here: http://superfuture.com/city/supertalk/index.cfm?page=topic&topicID=7426

[mcflip]

It's not that difficult to do. I did a pair of selvedge jeans that I got on ebay that were "relaxed fit". I ended up having to take them apart and stitch them all the way up to within an inch of the crotch. The way you should do it is to find some jeans that fit the way you like and lay both jeans inside out on top of each other. Trace the contour of the jean you like onto the one you want to alter with a non-permanent pen (or a sewing pen). Pin, or better yet, quickly stitch the jeans and try them on to make sure they're not too funky/uneven. Understand that you'll get another .5 inches or so when you do it for real, flatten it out and there isn't all that extra material inside the leg. After that, resew everything the size/shape you want and take care to do everything that had been done to your jeans so that they don't unravel or come apart. Make sure you've got the right color/thickness thread too.

If you're doing the inside and you don't have access to a sewing machine, I'd suggest just going to the tailor and telling him/her what you want unless you want to spend 6 hours handsewing the thing and having them come out not so great.

[losangeles]

What about turning a straight leg into a boot cut? Can it be done easily? What about selvage outseam?

[snugglepony]

just out of curiousity: who's buying you a pair of $300 jeans (!) for a christmas present before finding out whether or not you're ok with a slight bootcut...?

[WhoGotMeIntoThis]

Quote:

What about turning a straight leg into a boot cut? Can it be done easily? What about selvage outseam?

--- Original message by losangeles on Feb 15, 2006 04:48 PM

Nah, unfortunately, in trying to turn a straight leg jean into a bootcut jean, you're asking for more denim, chances are the amount of extra denim in the inseam and outseam (that bit of extra stuff that's sewn together to form the seem) that would be required to go from straight to boot just isn't enough...

One would think you'd have to add denim and doing that is beyond my knowledge.

[Tabak to the Future]

Snugglepony,

I got the RRDS as a gift from a girl who lives in Germany, where it's much cheaper than in N.America. It probably cost her 120 euro or so ($140 USD).

Anyway, she's a rich girl who thought they'd look good on me. Bootcuts look horrible on me (short skinny legs) though.

So I guess she's a rich girl who has a lot of money but not a lot of taste!

[Seething Tortoise]

Quote:

Snugglepony,

I got the RRDS as a gift from a girl who lives in Germany, where it's much cheaper than in N.America. It probably cost her 120 euro or so ($140 USD).

Anyway, she's a rich girl who thought they'd look good on me. Bootcuts look horrible on me (short skinny legs) though.

So I guess she's a rich girl who has a lot of money but not a lot of taste!

--- Original message by Tabak to the Future on Feb 15, 2006 07:56 PM

Well, at least she was nice enough to give you a pair. I know I wouldn't complain

[nairb49]

tabak-i'd say you're doing alright if you're getting rrds shipped to you "cause they would look good"

when i said taking the inseam in would be a bit tricky, i didn't mean you'd mess it up, just that it would be tedious i guess. rrds isn't flat-felled, so you're lucky there.

basically all you'd have to do is undo all the chainstitching up to a bit above the knee, and then sew it back together in the cut you want.

nairb49