Yes, you can cut your bell bottoms yourself!
Our lead designer made these with this process in mind. We have designed our bell bottoms to start at an Extra long 32" inseam so that you can cut them to size without worrying about ruining them. We have put multiple bar tack stitches on the inside of the legs of the bells about an inch and a half apart to prevent the seam from unraveling after you trim your bell bottoms to size. Below is the step by step process to get the perfect bell bottom length! You can also watch this video on how to successfully hem our bell bottoms.
TOOLS NEEDED: A sharp pair of scissors but if you have a fabric roller cutter, that works better. One standard ruler. One sharpie or black pen. A smooth table or cutting surface.
NOTE: Once bell bottoms have been hemmed, they are NO LONGER eligible for return or exchange. I always recommend doing this in a couple of stages and then trying them on before doing another if required. This is for two reasons: the obvious not to cut too much at once, and these bell bottoms tend to look better a bit longer than most assume. This gives you the chance to see that for yourself.
STEP 1: Put your bell bottoms on and using the sharpie/ pen, mark on the inside (white fabric side) of your left leg of the bell bottoms, next to the outer side seam, where you would like your bell bottoms to end. This step is easier if you can have a friend mark the length for you. NOTE: take into account that you might want to wear heels or wedges with them at some point and you want to leave a little rom to fully cover your feet when doing so.
STEP 2: Take off your bell bottoms and turn them inside out so that the print/ color is on the inside and all that is showing is the white fabric. Lay the bell bottom leg that you just measured and marked on a flat surface and smooth it out so that there are no wrinkles in the fabric and the inseam and outer seam are located on each side of the smoothed fabric.
STEP 3: Using the ruler, measure the distance between the current bottom edge of your bell bottom and your desired edge (where you marked with marker/ pen). Once you have that length, measure the same distance on the other side of the SAME LEG that you already marked, and make another mark. This should leave you with your bell bottoms having 2 marks on the inside of the left leg; one on the outer side of the leg (outer ankle) and one on the inner side of the leg (inner ankle). Before starting step 4, make sure that both your start cut mark and end cut mark are in between two bar tack stitches to ensure that the side seam threads cannot unravel when you are finished.
STEP 4: Now that you have your starting cut marked and your end cut marked, use the marker/ pen to draw a curve shape, similar to the existing curve of the bottom of the bell bottom, from one mark to the other. This will serve as your cutting guide to make sure you cut a good line when trimming your bell bottoms.
STEP 5: Begin to cut the first leg of your bell bottom along the line you drew. Be sure to hold slight tension on both sides of the cut so that it cuts evenly and clean. You want to try and do long steady even cuts to avoid jagged edges at the bottom.
STEP 6: Once you have completed your first cut, you should have a loop of scrap fabric left over from the first leg. This will serve as your pattern template for the second leg to ensure the cut is the same size on both legs. Lay your second bell bottom leg on a flat surface and smooth it out so that there are no wrinkles in the fabric and the inseam and outer seam are located on each side of the smoothed fabric. Then take your scrap cut fabric from the previous leg and lay it over the leg you want to cut, matching up seams and the bottom edges, and making sure they are both turned inside out.
STEP 7: Using your scrap fabric as a template and making sure the edges are flush/ even, trace the top edge (the side you cut) with your marker/ pen to create the cut line for your second leg. Be sure to make sure the template scrap piece of fabric is facing the right way and turned inside out.
STEP 8: Using the guideline you just drew, cut the second leg hem accordingly. Once this cut is complete you should have two bell bottom legs with matching lengths. If you have some jagged edges from cutting, simply trim the tag pieces off to create a smooth raw hem.
STEP 9: Turn them back to right side out and try them on to ensure you have trimmed enough off.
STEP 10: Enjoy and snow them off to the world!
OTHER FACTS TO CONSIDER: If you know the length you want your bell bottoms hemmed, you can request it at checkout in the comment section when ordering them so one of our trained professional seamstresses can hem them for you. Just remember, they are no longer eligible for return/ exchange if they are hemmed so make sure you are certain on the length you want. You can also have us hem your bell bottoms at any Yoga Democracy Brick n Mortar store. Just bring them in and we will do it free of charge.