Wednesday, June 19, 2013

New Life for Old Jeans

My dear friend, Gerri gave me these Gloria Vanderbuilt jeans about 5 years ago before I left Illinois.

They are very comfortable though perhaps not fashionable these days because the waist line is above my belly button where I like it.

I also don't like to wear jeans in Hawaii because I feel too hot in them.


I considered donating them, but I hate giving up something that reminds me of Gerri.  So I decided to shorten them.

Shorts are out.  I already wrote about my saggy knees.  Tsk...

That left capris which are popular in Hawaii.


I tried several lengths and then marked it with a dressmaker's marking pencil.  I allowed a 1.5 inch hem to fold under.

The cut off the excess material.  That's the point of no return.

I decided this time to put a little orange duct tape to help me keep my hem straight.  Yes, I know there are lines on the sewing machine, but I can never seem to keep the hem aligned to the thin engravings on the machine.



Voila!

Here it is! I can't wait to wear them next time we go into Honolulu.

Yae!

Thank you for my (sort of) new capris, Gerri!

29 comments:

  1. Nicely done. They look great.

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    1. Thanks, Rae! It's so nice to see you back.

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  2. Well done! I love repurposing.

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  3. They look dandy. I love your idea to put bright tape on the lines of the sewing machine; must do with mine. DrumMajor

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    1. I think you should be sure to take off the tape when you're not using it though. It might leave sticky residue the sewing plate.

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  4. A job well done. A second gift from your friend and a new pair of capris for you.

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  5. Cute! And very useful, too. I have a sewing machine that sits unused except for repairs, since I can't sew a straight seam to save my life! :-)

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  6. Now you can get several more years out of them!

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  7. Hum, wonder if that orange tape would help me. Worth a try. Love your results and what a great recycle.

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  8. And they look lovely on your slim legs. Dianne

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  9. Good idea. I miss having a sewing machine for tasks like this.

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  10. Wow, they turned out super! In summer, I like loose cotton slacks. I don't wear jeans, capris or shorts, but you look great in capris. Great idea, shortening the jeans to that length.
    K

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  11. Yea for you. Don't listen to that waist line stuff. I only buy jeans that say "at the waist!"

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  12. Great recycle. Beautiful and the perfect length for your body.

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  13. They look great,I wish I sewed!

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  14. You will love those. Perfect length too. They make a little platform that goes around the free arm for that bernina. On that you can fit a little plastic arm that works well as a barrier. Quilters use these. Using just the free arm, you can tape a little pile of mat board or cardboard on to make a similar barrier. If that makes sense to you.

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  15. REally cute, and a great length. Because I'm so short, all of my capris hit BELOW my knee.

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  16. Obviously you don't need help in sewing. However, your readers who live in Honolulu may be interested to know there is a seamstress who can work wonders at the Mauka-Ewa corner of Piikoi Street and Young Street (2 doors up) just before the Kaiser Honolulu Clinic. I used her to rescue my beat-up jacket with a UH Hawaii Rainbows emblem because it had become a classic in my estimation. She turned around the frayed collar and my jacket looked like new. Now on to the frayed cuffs since the Rainbow emblem is official again.

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    1. Thank you, Hank! This is great information for everybody to know.

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  17. Cute, Kay (Kute Kay?)


    ALOHA from Honolulu
    Comfort Spiral
    ~ > < } } ( ° > <3
    > < } } ( ° >

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  18. Thanks for the inspiration. Only recently I'm loving shorter length pants (outdated style/length probably). I think I may turn a few of my ugh-ly pants into capris too.

    L...w

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    1. Long pants always make me hot in Hawaii. I know you'll be a lot more comfortable with capris.

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  19. I like Gloria Vanderbuilt jeans too. Good job on the capris.

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  20. That's the right length for us.
    You are so handy, Kay. I wish I could sew stuff.

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  21. Oh Kay those are just darling. So cute and great job.

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  22. Nice work. I have to wear shorts, even though I have unsightly varicose veins on my right leg, and my legs are no longer shapely.

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