To hem or not to hem..

Being only 5 foot tall, shortening pants is nothing new to me. But that doesn't mean that I enjoy it.. I would rather sew a complete buttoned shirt than hemming pants! I guess, it's just like seaming or weaving in ends with knitting. I can't stand it, but it has to be done.

Because of this great enthusiasm, I usually just measured, cut and sewed it without dealing with the problem of how to use the original hem. Even though, I really would have liked to keep it; it just makes them looks a lot better.

Original and 'Easy Solution'

I have two really nice pairs of jeans here that have been waiting for a few weeks already. This time they will keep their original hems, I promised myself that. I just haven't figured out which technique to use yet. There are two great tutorials from Sew Much Ado and The Pretty Poppy. Both explain the process really nicely and feature a lot of pictures. 

With Sew Much Ado's version you basically just fold the original hem up to the desired finished length and then sew as close to it on the back side as possible. It's relatively quick and easy, but  leaves a small darker fold visible above the original stitching.

© Sew Much Ado

Lynsee's tutorial on The Pretty Poppy is a little bit more complicated, but the result looks just like the original hem. Here you cut your pants at the desired length, cut the original hem into a separate stripe and remove its original stitching. The original hem is then folded open, attached inside out to cover the cut end and then sewn in place.

© The Pretty Poppy

I would like to try the easier version, but I don't own an iron. I don't know if my seams would be nice and flat in the end. On the other hand, I don't know if I will be able to sew through the thick layers of fabric in the second version. 

I guess I'll try Sew Much Ado's way this evening to see how that would turn out. If I don't like it, I can rip out the stitches again and try the other version after some sewing machine testing. Sounds like a plan!

Have you ever hemmed jeans using one of these ways?
Please share your tips or suggestions! 

I'll keep you updated on my results!