Boot cut jeans

[Sara-S]

I have one pair of these, mainly because they were on sale in my size.  But the flare is very wide (even for boot-cuts) and I would like to make them into straight leg jeans.  I have a general idea how to do it, but it's not something I've done before.

Any hints would be welcome.

[BrendaP]

Tapering / reducing flare in regular trousers is usually easy enough, you just unpick the hem and then take in both seams by the required amount but with jeans if you have topstitched felled seams it's trickier.

If one seam is felled and topstitched and the other is plain you may be able to do all of the tapering on that seam without upsetting the hang of the trousers.  Pin or baste firmly to try on before you cut anything.

If that doesn't work it means unpicking seams the full length of the legs and finding thread to match the other topstitching before reworking felled seams.  A big job

[WildAtlanticWay]

I agree with @BrendaP that undoing and re-doing the outside seam could end up as an annoying big job and to tack them and try them on first before cutting them.

If they look a bit unbalanced after tacking, rather than making them narrow straight, if you take off the inside seam by a small amount below the knee, it will reduce the flare and shouldn’t upset the overall balance.

Let us know how you get on. I’m currently widening a pair of narrow Jeans leggings so I have a similar dilemma. 😂

[Lachica]

I second trying them on inside out after pinning out the excess. I did once take in a pair on both seams, unpicking the felled seam for a few inches past the taper then redoing it. It worked well but I only did it the once - guess why!! If the jeans fit very well and are quite new it's worth doing though.

[Iminei]

I like boot cut jeans (yes I realise skinny jeans are the fashion these days) as they make me look slimmer.

[Sara-S]

I don't necessarily dislike the boot cuts, especially if I am actually wearing boots.  But they particular pair has far more flair than I think it needs.