Raw-Hem Jeans DIY

If you’ve been paying attention to the street stylers this summer, you might have noticed that there’s something afoot with hems. That’s not to say all hems are being meddled with; it’s just denim hems which are having a bit of a makeover. Of course, we’ve all got used to rolling the hems up on our boyfriend/straight leg/skinny jeans (delete as applicable) over the past few seasons, but this time around it’s time to say hello to raw hem jeans.

I used scissors, measuring tape, a laundry/felt tip pen and a cheese grater.

The raw hem jean comes in a couple of variants. I’ve been quite partial to the AG boyfriend relaxed hem jean of late – you can see them in an earlier post here. But to be totally on your fash game this season you need to start thinking about the hi-low raw hem. It all started with Vetements who’s £800 jeans flew off the shelves, then us punters got a bit savvy about the notion that perhaps Vetements were having a bit of an ‘Emporer’s new clothes’ moment and we could, in fact, DIY a current pair of jeans for the same effect. So now the kids are back at school, I thought I’d have a bash at a little raw hem jeans DIY myself.

First up turn your jeans inside out and snip off the hems that are already sewn in your jeans, then measure where you’d like the front hem to sit. You can figure this out by measuring your inside leg and subtracting a few inches. For the most flattering look, you should try to get your hemline to sit on a thin part of your leg so just above the ankle is probably a winner.

Mark up both sides of the jeans and take a ruler or something with a straight edge to mark a line across on which to cut. Take a deep breath and get-a-slicing.

Next up flip the jeans over and measure the back of the jeans to find an appropriate back hem. I was going for the hi-low look, so I gave the back hem an extra inch or so. Take another deep breath, mark the straight line and snip away again. Then comes the fun part. Take your cheese grater and rough up the edges of the hemline until you get a few yarns freed up. You can then use your fingers or a seam ripper to prize individual strands out to your liking.

Verdict?

I used dark wash Paige jeans to road test my DIY skills on, but in retrospect, I think the look is better on lighter wash jeans, and my results below could do with a little more time on the tweaking. But I’ve got my DIY denim bit between the teeth now, so the rest of my multiple pairs of jeans lingering in the back of the closet had better beware!

I found loads of DIY inspo and new season fashion inspo on Pinterest. Pop over there and check out our boards @notesbyastylist

Raw-hem jeans… where to shop

Alternatively, if there isn’t an artsy-crafty bone in your body and you’d just like to snap up a pair of these cuties then take a peek below and get a clicking. Wear them with your favourite sneakers on the weekend or pair with a blazer and backless loafers for a smart/casual office vibe.