How to Take In the Back Waist of Your Jeans PROFESSIONALLY with Flat Fell Seam

Are the top of your jeans too big? You can take in the back waist and seat to resize your jeans for a tailored fit.
This type of jean alteration looks complicated but I'll show you how with step by step instructions to finish with a proper flat fell (flat felled) seam.

Whether you have new jeans that don't fit perfectly or you want to do a denim jeans thrift flip, just follow along to make your jeans smaller .

There are many hacks out there to take in the waist of jeans but none of them will give you a nice neat fitted finish. All that extra fabric has to go somewhere so usually it's gathered up at the sides or back.
That's ok if that is the look you are after but if you want fitted jeans, seams have to be taken in.

For this pair of jeans , I am only taking in the back seam as the hips already fit and most of the extra fabric sticks out at the centre back.

I never add darts on the back of jeans as they are too thick and lumpy and not very comfortable.

**Tools I use ***

DISCLOSURE: If you buy something through one of those links, I might get a small commission, without any extra cost to you.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro How to take in the back of Jeans
00:23 what is a flat felled seam
01:15 marking the back of the jeans
01:58 unpicking the waistband of the jeans
02:30 marking and cutting the waistband
03:50 marking and cutting centre back seam of jeans
05:45 pressing back seams of jeans
06:20 prep and pinning the back seam of jeans
07:50 stitching back seam of jeans
09:46 sewing waistband of jeans
11:12 reattaching waistband of jeans
11:32 reattaching centre loop of jeans

Music :
From the Cliffside by Tape Machines

#jeansaltertion#jeanswaist#clothingalterations

Please LIKE, SHARE, COMMENT and SUBSCRIBE 🙏

[NotchesSewing]

Have you ever tried to alter the waist of your jeans? I show you in detail how to do it . You may need to use a walking foot for a domestic machine if your jeans are really thick. You can use this same method with all types of fabric to get a strong and flat seam.

[amarug]

As an arrogant engineer, but with zero experience in sewing, I bought a cheap Singer HD and took this on as my first "tailoring project", thinking "how hard can it be". To make this worse, I tried it with the thickest G-Star denim that ever existed. The parts with the belt loops were so thick, they would not even fit under the foot. About 2h, 4 broken needles, and a bathtub full of tears later, I can proudly say that now pants fit pretty well again. The only unfortunate part is that they look like it was tailored by a drunk seagull. Nonetheless, the tutorial is amazing, it's just me lacking experience and skill... 😅😅

[dovana]

Rarely do I comment, but I have to say that this tutorial is by far one of the best ones I could find. For background, I am a beginner and it was my first time using a sewing machine. I followed the steps, and although my finish was a bit "meh", I did manage to accomplish the goal of making my black mustang jeans smaller on the waist! Thank you! <3 Slava Ukraini!

[Ultimate_flows]

I gotta say, this tutorial has inspired me to master this skill this summer. I’m so tired of not knowing how to alter my clothes to fit me well. Thank you for your easy directions. Could you also do a tutorial for professional pants with an elastic waistband? Thank you!

[sunnywiderman]

Absolutely superb tutorial. It's not even an alteration I'm planning to do soon, it's just something the algorithm sent me, and I recognized this would be complicated. It is, but this tutorial makes me feel like it's doable. Fantastic work. You're an outstanding teacher!

[praisingirl]

Thank you for the great explanation of the flat fell seam. Resewing it down the center back really makes it look professional.

[hattiedraper]

THANK YOU! After months of eating healthily I’ve managed to lose a lot of weight. With the help of your wonderful instructions I’ve just managed to alter six pairs of jeans. You’ve saved me lots of money (-I hadn’t reckoned on having to buy new clothes when I got slimmer🤣). and also you’ve boosted my confidence as a sewer. I never thought I could do something as complicated as this, but you’ve shown me how. Thank you, thank you.

[pepe-gfv]

I altered my mom's jeans using this tutorial after she lost a lot of weight. And the crazy part is that I hand stitched this, cuz we don't have a sewing machine at home. My fingertips hate me, but the end result is so beautiful to see. You can't even see where I cut the waistband cuz the belt loop covers it. And the part where I had to stitch very thick layers of fabric bent a couple needles which I had to discard lol. But yeah this was great man. The tutorial was very easy to follow and I am sure this would be even easier with a sewing machine. Thank you for this video :)

[GothCowgirl]

I did it!! I am a beginner sewer and have never tried to take in jeans like this before, and I was able to follow along. It did take me like 4 hours but I’m sure that’ll improve with practice 😂

[lizzies]

I came to YT looking for a completely different alteration to try to learn, but found this and your soothing voice made me watch it all the way through. The simple but careful instruction has made me scrap my other idea and decide I’ll try this instead! Thanks for the inspiration!

[AM-dmpl]

This was an amazing step by step tutorial! Calm voice, great directions, and superb videoing. Love that you included a before and after. 👏 👏 👏

[husseinmsi]

Amazing method, never seen such a flawless way to taper waist of jeans, thank u

[brianabrahambah]

Thank you very much for the tutorials it is very important and it so simple to understand

[marysinclair]

I am an intermediate sewer, i have 4 pairs of jeans and several pairs of trousers to alter having lost weight, i have been watching your video multiple times to get the jist of what to do, i took my jeans to the dry cleaners for alteration, he said it would cost £40 per pair, could not afford that, i could have bought 2 pairs in ASDA GEORGE for that price. But i will learn something by doing it with your video. Wish me luck, Mary

[catmom]

I need to do this. I have been putting it off because I didn't know how to make the seam look right. Now I do! Thank you!

[Alex-qxgx]

This is one of the best tutorials I have seen - it's so detailed and well explained. I have such high admiration and respect for anyone who wants to alter the waist of their jeans. Now I'm not afraid to thrift jeans that don't fit greatly in my waist if they fit me otherwise :D Thank you!

[nkosinathilinda]

I don't sew nor do I own a sewing machine but this was very therapeutic to watch...but it also made me wanna start altering my own clothes.

[HiYaCeeShabob]

I tried your method on a pair of jeans I thrifted. Worked like a charm! Thanks so much!

[profitlikeroyalty]

This video was beautifully put together. Your video has reignited my desire to sew 💕 Thank you

[elif-vnhy]

I wishhh I would have seen this earlier. I did it completely wrong. I didn’t ruin my jeans but this method is so much betterr.