No, not culottes…but short pants. I was hemming a pair of jeans today. I had two pair from earlier this year that were too long and this is the first time I have taken to hem them. They weren’t just a bit too long, they were more than five inches too long. I haven’t hemmed a pair of pants for a few years, but I was quite confident with my hem tape. AND I was borrowing my Mum’s sewing machine to finish the seams.

Regardless. I laid my jeans out on the ironing board. Seams together. I carefully measured the inseam—29.5inches—and folded them up. I pinned them and tried them on. PERFECT!!!

PERFECT!!!

I took them off and I laid them back on the ironing board. And without thinking (nor measuring twice I guess), I cut them off. I don’t really know what I was thinking, but I remember thinking about what my Mum had cautioned: “Don’t cut both sides at once.” (Meaning both sides of one pant leg.) I carefully cut down the inseam to where I’d marked 30.5 inches (one inch for seam allowance). Then (this is when I wasn’t thinking), I took the pant leg (which was doubled over) and cut, straight across.

I looked confused at the pant leg which was now in three pieces. The bottom fold was just cut off and then there was the original bottom of the leg.

Oh.

I’d cut straight across at 30.5 inches with the pant leg folded up. The pant leg was now 28.5 inches.

Oh well. I’ll wear them as capris next summer!