Taking in trouser legs

[Titterofwit]

I have lots of work type trousers and some jeans which are a good fit at the waist and hips but the legs are far too wide/not the right shape for me. I have fantasised for ages now about taking them in and have looked up how to do this on youtube nd it seems relatively easy to do for a good seamstress.
I am not a good seamstress

Has anyone done this themselves and lived to tell the tale? Is it possible or just a waste of time? Im thinking there might be something technical that makes it all look shite even if the sewing is okay.

Any tips or hints?

ha! Find a local hobby/seamstress shop, they will do it for you for about £10 a pair I should think. Gotta be worthwhile, eh?

Its that hard then.

Ill just have to look unfashionable in the trouser department then. Most of my clothes are supermarket stuff.I cant afford to pay £10 to alter them .

You could get something cheap at a jumble sale (say £1 pair) and try to alter them following Youtube instructions. See how that works before you risk a good pair. I assume you have a sewing machine, at least? I'd be using my cutting board & rotary cutter, too, to try to get it all right.

Have you got some other trousers you like the shape of? Lay them on top, both pairs inside out, and draw a new seam. (This is best done on the inside leg where your sewing won't show.) Sew the new seam loosely and try on. If it looks awful, unpick it, no harm done. If it looks OK, sew properly and trim the new seam (i.e cut off the excess bunchy stuff).

Which machine stitch should OP use to stop fraying... what if she went over it 2nd time with a better stitch... is that what overlockers are for?

I have a lovely soft (but stupidly oversize) jumper that needs this treatment.

I have never had an overlocker to know what they'd do. I think I'd stitch it in a normal stitch and finish the edges with some sort of zig zag. (My sewing machine's very basic! But I have done this before a few times and you shouldn't need any complicated equipment.)

Overlockers make this kind of machine stitch that are probably the default (original) type of stitch on OP's inside leg seams. The main thing they achieve is to make the risk of fraying zero. My mother taught me to double fold fabric in, instead to avoid fraying, but that works for hand stitching not machine.

I have taken in the lower part of legs but am lazy. I turn them inside out and put them on, work out how much I need to take in and pin them.

Tack them, turn the right way and try on again to see if they are OK, then I stitch them. I do this by hand as my machine isn't working.

If there is bulk left I will cut it off if it will affect the fit, and oversew the edges.

I work on the basis that it will be inside and not seen. If I am sewing something that shows I do it a bit more carefully.