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DIY Bell Bottoms

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Some say that the comeback of the flare & wide leg denim trend marks the death of the skinny jean. Although I’m not ready to retire all of my skinnies just yet, I’m more than happy to lend a couple of pairs for the sake of an HonestlyWTF DIY. With denim scrap I saved when making some denim cut-offs last summer, we’ll show you how to upcycle a pair of skinny jeans into a pair of bell bottoms!

You’ll need:
- a pair of skinny jeans
- scrap denim or fabric
- a pair of scissors
- a seam ripper
- a sewing machine
- a ruler

Start by opening up the outer seams of each leg with the seam ripper. Stop at around 18 inches or right below the knee.

Fold the the scrap denim or fabric in half lengthwise and draw a diagonal line measuring the length of the open seam plus 2 inches. Adjust the width to your liking: the wider the base of the triangle, the wider the bell. Cut along the line. Repeat the step to make 2 identical triangular panels.

Pin one side of the triangular panel to an open seam. Starting at the bottom hem, sew a straight stitch with a half inch inseam. If you don’t have a sewing machine, you can try hand sewing with a thread and needle. After sewing one side, pin the other side. Trim any excess fabric. Repeat the same step on the other leg

Your bell bottoms are finished! You can also try adding fabric like we did here. Have fun!

(top image via Jak&Jil, rest of images by Honestly…WTF)

77 Comments

  2. Lisi    May 10, 2011

    You girls never cease to amaze!!! LOVE THEM!! Death to the skinny jean!

  3. Evelin    May 10, 2011

    I’m still too fond of my skinny jeans to do that just yet…you’re brave :D

  4. Nikki    May 10, 2011

    Wow, these turned out amazing! I like to have a combo of shapes in my wardrobe when it comes to jeans, so I’ve definitely bit into the wider legged trend, but am still holding on to a few pairs of my skinnies. It’s nice to have options. Great job!

    http://www.cositabella.com

  7. AlbeeLucky    May 10, 2011

    I <3 this DIY. Totally inspired me to try this and maybe with some lace.

    xo-AlbeeLucky.blogspot.com

  13. Weronika    May 10, 2011

    Wow I love them! I’ve been thinking to do something like this with some old jeans… might have to give it a try :)

  21. Jesse    May 10, 2011

    i used to have a pair of jeans like this years ago, still a great idea.
    i’m holding out for the made in heaven bell bottoms, they’re so amazing.

  26. Rae    May 10, 2011

    i love your DIYs! But this one i have to disagree with… not at all for me.

  28. Barret    May 10, 2011

    tessa and i would do that with all our jeans in college! perfect way to make old jeans new again, i love it. and it works well with different fabrics and patterns as well.

    girlobsessed.blogspot.com

  29. Bia    May 10, 2011

    amazing blog. I’ve been really inspired by your ideas. Thanks. ;)

    ps: I added you to my blogs list. Im sure I will stop by here more.

    kisses, bia ^^

  33. Lo    May 10, 2011

    I’ve been dying for a pair of bell bottoms, this is the perfect solution! thanks! :)

  35. Bec    May 10, 2011

    WOW, it doesn’t even look like an obvious diy. so phenomenal. but i’m still with you, the skinnies are still hanging in the front of my closet!

  36. Marsha    May 10, 2011

    Great fix! I am looking forward to the change from skinnies to wide. Skinny jeans only look right on skinny people. The rest of us look like a science project gone horribly wrong when wearing skinny jeans.

  37. Joanna    May 10, 2011

    Another fantastically executed DIY…that I probably couldn’t pull off myself. Sewing machines scare me.

  38. erica    May 11, 2011

    @Joanna, you can hand sew it like Lauren did back in high school! a bit more time consuming but it works. xx

  41. kris    May 11, 2011

    Thanks for the step by step. I will be doing this DIY

  42. Janelle Gramling    May 12, 2011

    I did this almost 20 years ago. It was my first sewing project ever back in junior high. Now I’m a fashion designer and sew every day. I will never forget that pair of light blue jeans with the lime-green velvet triangle inserts!

  45. maize hutton    May 14, 2011

    I did this back in the early 1970′s in the 8th grade. Us girls would also cut our jeans to skirt length and insert fabric in the front and back. We also made bags from our jeans. Those were some of the first clothing hacks we did back then! :)

  46. Cicily    May 14, 2011

    I have never given up on my bootcuts, so I am super happy that bell bottoms are coming back in. LOVE this DIY. Even I could pull it off in the limited time I have for that kind of thing. Sweet!

  47. Sofia    May 15, 2011

    I use to do this to my jeans in high school. And sometimes I would use paisley instead of denim. Ugh.

  48. Alex    May 16, 2011

    I love this! I am a big fan of flares, i wear flares almost everyday.. but always looking for the next pair, haha. these look great, i wanted to do this before but worried the different color fabric/denim would look stupid :S but you’ve made it look cool.. would be awesome if they were black with a dark grey or white insert!!

    http://www.houseofslater.com

  50. Helen    May 16, 2011

    Whoa! I really love this! I like the fabric one the best – you’re very talented!!

    PS: I’m hosting a $150 perricone skin care giveaway — check it out if you like!

    xo, Helen

  53. Gaby    May 31, 2011

    I love this! I read this and immediately went to my bag of old jeans that I was about to give away and did this. I’m SO happy I hadn’t gotten rid of the pair of skinny jeans I did this to, they’re now my favorite pair of jeans. I inserted a stripey purple and teal batik fabric into dark wash jeans. I LOVE them now. Thanks for the idea :D

  56. Paul    September 9, 2011

    We use to do this in the 60′s and early 70′s….I guess what goes around, comes around…

  57. Doreen    September 28, 2011

    like Paul said, we did that 60s-70s… what a kick to see it being done again.

  58. Puffle_huff    December 20, 2011

    I just made these and they turned out GREAT! Love them so much. ^_____^

    The one issue I had is that I assumed on the fabric and tried to use one pair of skinnies and another pair of skinnies as scrap denim. It’s best to use an one pair of flares or, like you mentioned,scrap fabric to achieve a wide enough bell.

  59. Marissa    January 2, 2012

    I did something like this for a hippie costume. I used some remnant fabric that I picked up for $2 that was tie-dye and then added some peace signs and butterfly patches. Still have them!

  60. say    February 18, 2012

    Love it!
    It was a classic in the Seventies to DIY bell bottoms denim to make them more more and more flare :) ))

  62. Sarah    July 16, 2012

    So done with skinnies. Ready to transform them into some good old trusty flares! Take that society!
    Death to skinny jeans.

  64. Lettie Wasco    February 20, 2013

    Slim-fit pants or skinny jeans (when made of denim) have a snug fit through the legs and end in a small leg opening that can be anywhere from 9″ to 20″ depending on size.[1] Other names for this style include drainpipes, stovepipes, tight pants, cigarette pants, pencil pants, skinny pants or skinnies. Skinny jeans taper completely at the bottom of the leg, whereas drainpipe jeans are skinny but then the lower leg is straight instead of tapering and so they are often slightly baggier at the bottom of the leg than skinny jeans.`

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  65. Hope    April 1, 2013

    Do you think it would be possible to hand sew these instead of using the sewing machine. I have one but it’s old and I am clueless on how to use it. I am a fairly decent hand at basic hand sewing though. Just wondering if it might work?

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