While I personally prefer to cut, turn and sew, then wash a couple times to shorten jeans, there is a new method where the hem is cut off and resewn on to keep the original hem look. If you do a google or even search this forum, you'll find plenty of info about this. However, finding someone to actually do it for you, is another story. The majority would turn this job down, simply because it's just not worth their time (iow how much are you willing to pay?) Your best bet is to find someone you know (close friend or relative) to sew for you. Another option is to find a dry cleaner that offers alterations.

Make sure you wash the jeans before any hemming is done.Then cut off as much as you need to leaving enough to do the hem.They also sell that orangy colored thread that jeans are normally sewn with,although i've just always used whatever was close that i already had on hand.I wound it on 2 bobbins,then i used one bobbin and one spool of thread on top and then the bobbin in the bobbin case/area.This give the same look that they had when you purchased them.

Other than that i agree with shady lady.Also the cleaners may do it,but it will cost more than i think you'd want to pay.JMO
Kathi

This is a routine alteration. Contact the local drycleaner and they will either have someone on site or have someone who works for them.

Mark the finished length at the back (I have the customer stand in stocking feet and mark where the jeans meet the floor). Angle up 1/4" to the inseam, and mark the front the same as the inseam. Allow 1 1/4" BELOW those marks for the allowance. Double fold the hem. Any industrial sewing machine will stitch through the layers with no problem. I would charge $10.

Gosh Chelone, you must really undervalue yourself, your abilities and the sewing profession! This sort of nickle and dime charging hurts the whole industry. :(
My time is worth at least $40/hour, so $40 minimum.

Why do kids buy jeans when they know they come in lengths so there shouldn't be a need to shorten them...or at least try them on first to get the right inseam length.

I totally agree...wash and dry the jeans first to see if they actually do need shortening...surprising how much jeans will draw up in the wash and dryer.

Thanks for all your help.

>>>> Why do kids buy jeans when they know they come in lengths so there shouldn't be a need to shorten them...or at least try them on first to get the right inseam length.>>>

Actually, they do not come in the length my son wears, at least not at most stores. I happen to have two sons who are short, and they have not been in boys' sizes for quite a few years now.

I was going to say kids jeans come in sizes & you get whatever length that size comes in.

I live in the wrong state for alterations! Home sewers usually get less than a dry cleaners & a dry cleaner that does not have an on site person usually contracts out at 50% of what they collect & they set the price. Their charge in Alabama is 7.50-10.00.

Personally, it is a job I dread being asked to do. It is a good needle breaker. Breaking needles gets expensive & pieces flying through the air is scary. It can also cause a machine to jump time when it hits the side seam. For me, it is not a job worth the risk I'd be taking. I refer all clients to the dry cleaners.

Shady.,

Please understand that my alteration customers bring me much more than a single pair of jeans when they come to me... . Taken in total, the $10 is actually the lesser part of the whole. I base my alteration prices on time studies (I spent many years in manufacturing, if you will recall). I update my pricing yearly. I do it the old fashioned way... get out the stopwatch and start with the ripping out and move on the actual machine work... then I add on the time for the "fitting".

After the better part of 28 yrs. in the biz. I'm pretty savvy about how to charge for my skills. You have nothing to fear from someone like me. (unless, of course, you are not well trained/equipped or just don't like that sort of work!)

;)

I don't offer alteration services (and don't want to) except for family - and then it's free. I'm not questioning your ability to know what you need to charge, it's just that $10 seems awfully low for someone with your experience. Which brings up my original comments that since most people wouldn't pay $40 to have a pair of jeans hemmed, it's just not worth the time and trouble (at least not to me).

It has always interested me that alterations are something people either really like doing or they really hate it. There never seems to be any "in between". I love the challenge... I love assessing the fit of a garment and then tweaking the seams to "contour it to your contours". Every article presents a new challenge and when I'm finished, I'M DONE, the problem is solved, and the customer is delighted. I rarely have "returns" with a garment... the returns are happy customers 99% of the time.

I love alterations personally (but I LOATHE bridal work, and rarely diegn to accept it). I was well trained by a tailor and worked for many years with a number of exceptionally skilled people who lavished me with good training ( I prefer menswear and TAILORING). Later, working "in the line" I was able to learn the specific operation of some very specialized machinery. That gave me a "leg up" when it came to knowing how to rip out complicated multi-needle stiches (time consuming). It also taught me the benefit of using a stopwatch and basing prices on the amount of money I want/need to earn every hour. I charge well for the years it took me to learn the precise fitting skills... and I charge from the minute the customer's car pulls into the yard until it leaves.

Alterations can be a real "loser" or can be very lucrative. Again, there never seems to be much "in between".

The $40 price tag got me by surprise, too. I charge around $30 an hour, Shadylady, but it doesn't take me anywhere near an hour to hem a pair of trou; and when it does, I'll retire.

Actually, I'm strickly home decor. I despise altering clothes and only do it when I have to. My mindset is that someone gets charged for a full hour, regardless if it took a full hour or not. Other professionals do this, such as plumbers and electricians, etc., so why can't people that sew? If they charge $75 an hour and the job takes 45 minutes, you still pay $75.

Sure they do. And that's ONE way to charge, but it's not the ONLY WAY.

If you truly understand how to approach alterations and effect the changes in a timely manner the old "time study" and stopwatch method is a perfectly legitimate way to set your prices. You have never worked in "the line", I suspect. And that means you simply don't know how to "set the rate" at a level that meets your financial requirements.

There's more than one way to "skin a cat". ;)