Things You'll Need:
- Pair of pants or well-worn jeans
- 1/4 yard of fabric in your choice of color or pattern
- Needle and spool of thread to match the fabric
- Embroidered patches
- Measuring tape
- Sharp scissors
- Sewing machine, if you have access to one
- Iron
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Step 1
Lay out the pants or jeans that you want to alter. Grabbing one leg at a time, open the outside seam from the hem to knee level. After you have done this to both legs, it is then time to use the seam ripper to remove the hem from the bottom of the pants or jeans.
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Step 2
Depending on how much you want the bell bottoms to flare out will determine how wide the triangle of fabric will need to be. Use the measuring tape to help guide you and make sure to leave enough room at the bottom of the material to sew a hem. Two inches on the top and three to six inches on the bottom is standard for most leg lengths.
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Step 3
Turn your pants or jeans inside out and place the triangle of material on each leg. Make sure that the top portion of the fabric overlaps the top of the slit. Hand sew or stitch the panel to the pants with a sewing machine. Use a zig zag stitch to keep the material from coming apart while being laundered.
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Step 4
Hem the bottom of the pants or jeans using a straight stitch. Press the fabric with an iron until it lays flat. Turn the pants right side out and try them on. Make sure that the legs flare out the way that you expected them to.
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Step 5
Take the jeans off. Using a hot iron, press iron-on, embroidered patches in your choice of color and pattern onto each pocket of the jeans. Allow everything to cool and then show off your new duds to all of your friends.
