I have been lusting over inner ankle zip pants since last fall. Problem is they are not as common as outer ankle zip which makes them even more difficult to find the right fit and price point. It then hit me that sewing a zipper in the seam of a pant could be quite simple, and much to my satisfaction it was.
You will need:
- Pair of jeans you love (I opted for my favorite H&M super low skinnies and went with a longer length to achieve the “heel peeking out of the pant” effect)
- 2 7″ zippers (found in most craft stores that carry sewing supplies)
- Thread that matches the topstitch color of your pant
- Seam ripper or snips and scissors
- Sewing machine (I did not use a special zipper foot)
Steps:
- Remove seam from inside of each leg starting at the bottom and ending about a 1/2″ longer than zipper length.
- Turn pants inside out and remove seam from the outside of of each leg starting 1″ above bottom hem and 1″ longer than inside removal seam (this will will create an opening you can finish your sewing through).
- Turn pants right side out and re-topstitch the hem on the inside openings the came apart while taking out seam.
- Unzip ankle zipper and line bottom tooth up with topstitch of hem. Sew halfway up, zip the zipper (basically getting the head of the zipper out of the way), sew rest of the way.
- Turn pants inside out. Trough the seam opening you created sew from top of seam rip (still zipped) and then sew zipper as far as you can.
- Most jeans have a double topstitch on the inside legs. Sew this topstitch starting from the top and as far as you can through seam opening allowance.
- Sew the outside seam opening shut.
- Turn pants right side out, unzip ankle zipper and finish sewing in the bottom of the zipper and topstitch line.
- Trim off the excess zipper fabric.
Have some fun with these by choosing zippers of different length or color. If you are not much of a seamstress this would be an inexpensive alteration to have done by a professional. I have hemmed pants before and quite honestly this is simpler. So simple in fact I plan to do the same technique but down the front of the ankle – stay tuned!
Yesterday was my first outing in these bad boys and I absolutely love them. They are everything I want in weekend wear – casual, cool and unique. It’s the little details in a look that really define style, when you add your own it becomes even more gratifying and you.
|WEARING| H&M jeans (with the DIY ankle zip)/faux leather red jacket similar/striped top similar/grey scarf similar/leopard pumps similar/bronze clutch similar
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