Are your jeans too long? Like most full-length trousers and pants, jeans should typically extend 1 or 2 inches past your ankles when worn. If they are longer, several problems may occur. Your jeans may bunch up in the middle to create a messy appearance, or they may drag on the ground. In the latter scenario, allowing the bottom of your jeans to drag on the ground will likely damage them. They’ll slowly begin to degrade and unravel, resulting in permanent damage. There are a few things you do, however, if your jeans are too long.
Wear Them Higher on Your Waist
If your jeans are too long, try wearing them higher on your waist. Most jeans are designed to sit directly on your waistline when worn. Others are designed to sit a little lower or a little higher. Regardless, wearing your jeans higher on your waist will essentially make them shorter. If your jeans are 2 inches too long, for example, you can wear them 2 inches higher on your waist, allowing for a more appropriate length in which they don’t bunch up in the middle or drag on the ground.
Shrink Them
If your jeans are both too long and too wide, you can try shrinking them. Assuming they are made of pure denim — which most jeans are — they should shrink at least somewhat when exposed to heat. Heat causes organic materials, including denim, to permanently contract. What’s the best way to expose your jeans to heat exactly? You can wash your jeans in hot water to trigger shrinkage. Don’t just wash them in hot water a single time. Rather, run them through your washing machine three or four times on the hot water setting, after which they should shrink slightly.
You can also shrink your jeans in a standard clothes dryer. Clothes dryers typically have multiple settings, one of which being a hot-air setting. Like hot water, exposure to hot air will cause your jeans to contract. If you wash your jeans in hot water and dry them using hot air, you should be able to shrink them. Keep in mind that this will shrink both the length and width of your jeans. If your jeans currently have a proper width that fits around your waist, shrinking them may cause them to no longer fit.
Roll Them Up
Another way to deal with jeans that are too long is to roll them up. This involves taking a small section of denim material at the bottom of each pant leg and rolling it up a few inches. When rolled up, your jeans will look, as well as fit, shorter than before.
There are a few different ways to roll up your jeans. Perhaps the most popular method is the pin-roll method. It’s called the “pin-roll” method because it involves making short and narrow folds. To perform the pin-roll method, take the bottom of your jeans and roll them in short and narrow folds until you achieve the desired length. When finished, you can put on your shoes or boots, at which point you should be good to go.
Along with the pin-roll method, you can simply “cuff” the bottom of your jeans by folding the denim material up a few times. Just be sure to fold them tight enough so that they don’t unroll. If you fold them too loosely, they will inevitably unroll throughout the day as you wear them.
Choose Selvedge Jeans
Rather than trying to make oversized jeans fit better, you may want to replace them with a pair of selvedge jeans. Available for sale here at MakeYourOwnJeans, selvedge jeans are distinguished from other types of jeans by the presence of a band at the bottom of each pant leg. If you look at the bottom of the pant legs, you’ll see a small band in which the denim material has been folded and sewn into place.
Selvedge jeans typically offer a better fit than traditional jeans because of this band. The band prevents the pant legs from dragging on the ground, allowing for a better fit. At the same time, selvedge jeans are considered high quality. They are usually made with premium denim materials and expert craftsmanship. If you’re looking to buy a new pair of jeans and are worried that they’ll be too long, you can’t go wrong with selvedge jeans.
Place Over the Top of Your Footwear
The way in which your jeans can affect their perceived length. As previously mentioned, you can wear your jeans higher on your waist if they are too long. An alternative solution, however, is to place the bottom of your jeans over the top of your footwear. Whether you’re wearing tennis shoes, boots or loafers, you should be able to place the bottom of your jeans over the top of your footwear.
Some types of jeans are even designed specifically to be worn over the top of footwear. Boot-cut jeans, for instance, have a wider bottom than traditional jeans. They become wider and more open towards the bottom of their pant legs. As a result, you can easily place them over the top of your footwear.
Buy Custom-Sized Jeans
When all else fails, you can buy a pair of custom-sized jeans. Most stores sell jeans in basic sizes consisting of a length and width measurement. The problem with this generic sizing method is that it doesn’t always reflect a person’s true size. You may wear one size in a particular brand of jeans and en entirely different size in a separate brand of jeans.
Custom-sized jeans solve this problem by allowing for a bespoke measurement. You can order custom-sized jeans here at MakeYourOwnJeans. Instead of choosing a standard size, you’ll have the freedom to provide us with your exact body measurements. We’ll then use these measurements to design a custom pair of jeans that fit your body just right.
