Video:How to Make Pants Into Shorts

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Transcript:How to Make Pants Into Shorts

Hi, I'm Lynn Reynolds for About.com Home. Today I’m going to show you how to make pants into shorts. If you have a pair of pants you love, but the knees are worn, or they’re just a little too scruffy, this method can give them a new life.

Here’s an old pair of pants that have been a favorite of mine for years. They’re really too worn to wear to wear out on the town now, but as a pair of shorts they’d be perfect for gardening or going on a hike!

What You'll Need

Here’s what you’ll need: a pair of pants, a sewing machine, thread that’s the color of the pants, scissors, a ruler, a hem guide.

Measure Above the Knee

The first thing I’m going to do is measure to cut them off at 1-2” above knee height. You can either put them on and mark with a pin, or just measure the distance from your waist to your knee.

I’m about 17” inches from my waist to the top of my knee, so I’m going to cut at 16 inches. You can mark with some straight pins to help you if you like. Make the cut as straight as possible

Turn Jeans Inside Out

Turn them inside out and turn the hem under 1/2 inch. Press as you go along. Again, evenness is important here, so if you need to, use a ruler to make sure you’ve got your hem even.

Now, turn the hem under again 1 inch using the ruler to keep it straight. Use the same pins to pin the hem into place. Take a look; does it look straight? If not, adjust as necessary. Here’s a spot that looks crooked; I’m going to move it down a little.

At this point, you might also want to turn the pants right side out and try them on in the mirror, just to be sure you’ve got the hem straight. Be careful of the pins! Once you’re sure your hem looks even, lightly press it into place.

Sew the Jeans

Place the material in the sewing machine, with the needle above the inside seam. As these stitches will show from the outside, we want to make sure that we do our backstitching in a spot that won’t show.

Place a hem guide to the right of the fabric. You can do this step without one, but it does make it easier to sew straight.

Sew the hem using a long stitch. Longer stitches are more decorative and look nicer than shorter ones.

Repeat this step for the other leg.

Ta da! A new pair of shorts! And funny, they already feel like an old favorite.