2) sit on the ground with legs flat in front of you. begin pinning at the OUTSIDE (never the inside) seam where the jeans begin to loosen around leg. this will probably be in the lower thigh area, several inches above the knee, but could be as low as the upper calf depending on the beginning fit of the jeans.

3) pin at an even, graduated angle toward the ankle. pulling jeans snug but not too tight (there must be enough room for an ankle and foot to pass through comfortably). securely pin at bottom hem.

4) repeat on other jean leg. laid flat, the pants should now look something like this: SEE STEP #1

5) change sewing machine needle to a denim/canvas gauge.

6) sew an even seam along the line designated by the pins, using the machine's basic single stitch. with the first seam in place, the jeans will look like this: SEE STEP # 2

7) this is your chance to catch a mistake while there is only one seam to remove. turn the jeans back right side out and make sure your legs will slide comfortably in and out of them. this may feel a little bit awkward becuase of the extra fabric, but the jeans should still slide on and off without too much trouble. if you notice some puckering where your seam begins mid-leg, go back to the machine and make sure the transition from your seam to the existing one is completely straight and smooth.

8) turn jeans back inside out. immediately outside first seam, sew another, this one using a zig zag stitch.

9) immediately outside the zig zag seam, sew another, this one using the basic single stitch once again. with all three seams in place, you should have a very durable and secure seam which looks something like this: SEE STEP #3

10) cut the excess fabric from outside your newly-created seams. SEE STEP #4

11) if desired, iron the new seam flat.

your finished jeans in all their skinny glory should look something like this: SEE AFTER PHOTO

if you want, this is the point when the jeans can be hemmed to remove any excess length that might cause bunching around the ankle. i already have a pair of ankle-length grey skinny jeans and kind of like the bunchy effect as a change of pace, so I'm leaving my long-n-leans just as long as god made them.