Sometimes small modifications to our clothing or bags can make huge changes in security or usability. For instance, I previously added a security hack to my Uniqlo round mini shoulder bag. This time I made a few easy changes to my pants to increase their effectiveness for travel. First, I added a security anchor for my phone strap. Then I added a drawstring to my wide leg pants bottoms to convert them to joggers for hiking. I am fairly happy with the hacks.

Security Ring Anchor

I added a small security ring to the inside seam of my pants pocket. This was placed in the upper part of my pocket near my waist. The ring gave me an anchor for my NiteIze phone hitch. This would make it harder to lose or drop my phone, as it was tethered to my pants.

The hack was a five minute project using a small 1/2 inch jump ring, needle, and thread. I used a whip stitch to attach the ring to the inner pocket. Normally I use a closed jump ring for added security. In this case a split ring will do, as it is hidden within the pocket.

Why place the ring at the top of the pocket? Adding the ring to the top gave me several inches of extra working space when using the phone. Additionally, it pulls the phone into a comfortable place within my pocket. You can see from the photo below that the phone will easily slip into the pocket for storage. The high anchor also prevents the tether from tangling at the bottom of the pocket.

I added a second ring to the opposite pocket for a tethered wallet. I like options!

Pants Drawstring

A person on Reddit mentioned a clever idea. They put a drawstring into the hem of their wide leg pants. This modification turned them into joggers. I thought this was a brilliant idea. The hem is cinched for hiking when you don’t want to snag any loose clothing.

I spent around one and a half hours from start to finish for this project. There was a little bit of a learning curve involved with the hem. For this project you will need:

• Thin round elastic cord
• Seam ripper
• Teeny tiny clothing safety pin (the gold ones)
• Needle
• Thread that matches your pants
• Scissors

The first step is to decide where you will open up the hem seam for the elastic. I chose the space right next to the side seam. This meant that I only needed to reinforce the stitching on one side. The side seam would prevent unraveling on the other side.

I used a back stitch to reinforce the hem seam where I was going to rip it open. This would keep it from unraveling. I did this on both parts of the hem seam.

I pushed the safety pin through the elastic cord so it would have a low profile.

I used the seam ripper to open up the hem near the side seam. I then pushed the safety pin/cord through the opening. I slowly worked the cord around the pants leg. It is incredibly important that you keep stretching the pants leg to prevent any puckers from forming. You want the pant leg to hang normally when the cord is loose.

Pull both ends of the cord out at the seam opening. Make sure that the hem hangs normally and has no puckering. Yes, I am emphasizing this!

Tie the two ends of cord into a knot. I used a water knot, but a grapevine knot would work well too. After that, trim the ends.

To place the pants in jogger mode, pull the elastic and tie an overhand on a bight knot. Tuck the knot up into the pants.

This photo shows one pants leg in wide leg mode and the other in jogger mode. You can’t tell the elastic is inside the hem when it is in normal mode.

The width of the pants means that you really can’t tell that the cord knot is in the hem. The excess cord from the hem is undetectable when the pants are in jogger mode too! It has no problem staying in place when you tuck it up into the drawn pants.

In conclusion, I have been quite pleased with the performance of both hacks. It is definitely worth the extra hour or so to make the modifications to the pants.