Quick 'Fix': Pants...

I've been working on my pants today. I've been lucky enough to have to take the waists of my pants in lately :).  And I had a few more to give the 'treatment'. In case you need to do this, I've compiled the four simple steps that it takes to slim up the waistband of your pants in about 5 minutes! Time for a quick 'fix'.

First, you'll determine how much your waist needs to come in. I usually try my pants on, then pinch two different spots in the back to eyeball it, but you can pin them if you want specific measurements. Once you've picked the two points at which you'll be doing this (I pick spots equidistant from the middle back belt loop), pinch towards the inside of your jeans/pants. You can mark it, put a pin in it, or just jump to the next step. Second you'll throw this in your machine lining up how much you'll be taking in. Third, stitch it up! Starting at the top of the waistband, simply angle out towards the edge of the pinched fabric anywhere from 1-2 inches down. The fourth step varies: you can trim off the excess, finish off the edges and open up the seam and press, OR you can press the pinched fabric to one side (without trimming anything). This will depend on how it feels wearing the pants. Cool? Ok.

So, along with the waist, I had to slim up the legs from the knees down just a bit (only because I wanted a more fitted look). With time, jeans start to give and stretch and don't always bounce back after you've had them for a while, so I was taking in some of that slack. And here's how they fit now!

Quick disclaimer: I haven't pressed the seams on any of these yet...too lazy ;)

This next pair I just picked up. I love the bright colored jeans that I see all over, but thrifting in a very small shop makes it difficult to always find just what you want. Well, I snagged this pair of Anthropologie jeans because the color is AMAZING and the fit is super great! Minus the waist ;). No big deal, though, right? Repeated the same process for taking in the waist, and voila! A super cute pair of colored jeans for spring...

I came across this pair of J Brand jeans the same day as the colored jeans. Again, they didn't fit so well in the waist. Five minutes fixed that problem. However...

the length and shape of the lower legs was weird! I slimmed up that portion and now I have a pair of cigarette length jeans! Pretty hot with a pair of heels.

And, not that you need to see yet another picture of my butt in pants, BUT I am actually looking for your ideas on this next pair. The waist is ok, I think I can go without an adjustment there for a bit, but I'm not a huge fan of the extra fabric in the front and how it lays. Also, I've got a couple of grease spots on the front of each thigh (only one pictured) and am not sure what I want to do about it yet...so my question is:

Seriously, what would you do? I love the color and like I said, the fit is pretty okay. I've thought of reverse appliquéing some contrasting fabric (think floral) in different spots to take care of getting rid of the stains, but am not sure.

I'd love to hear your ideas! So send them my way :)

Peace,
Andrea