Start at the top of the pants, lining up your side panel to the open seam. Lay the face of your fabric against the right-side of your jeans. Face-to-face, okay? You can make kissing noises if you like.
Be sure that the top of your panel is folded down to match the height of the waistband on the pants. Begin to straight stitch the panel in place, 1/4" away from the edge.
Important:If you are sewing jeans and using a sewing machine, be sure to slow down when you sew through the waistband or any horizontal seams, like where the side pockets are attached. These extra layers of fabric can break the needle on your machine.
After straight stitching, it's important that you go over the edge of the seam with a zig-zag stitch. Don't skip this step, or you'll be sorry when your pants are unraveling in a month.
Next, let's re-hem the bottoms.
