Distressing
Jeans are a special piece of clothing that can be worn for many occasions. While they usually wear great, they may get worn, lose their shape, or just go out of style. Before deciding to give away some of your favorite denims, you may want to consider some inventive and easy DIY ways to renew and make them again fashionable.
Distressing your old pair of denims is easily done at home with just a few simple tools and tricks. American Eagle Outfitters created a great post with step-by-step directions. You will need:
- Sandpaper– for light distressing and breaking down the denim fabric
- Razor blade – scrapes away surface threads and cuts seams
- Scissors – for hole making
- Block of wood – to fit inside the jeans to provide a smooth surface and ensure that only one side is being distressed
- Bleach – to make some bold statements. Insert cardboard inside the jeans to prevent bleeding.
Lace Cuffs Jeans
Embellish your old jeans or shorts with lace on the cuffs or the bottoms. Sew on beads and sequins in a fun pattern, or use fabric paint with a cute stencil design and decorate your shorts.
Create Shorts
If the bottoms of your favorite jeans are permanently stained or worn beyond repair, consider making shorts. The best denims to choose from should fit comfortably in the hips, butt and thighs. Remember that baggy jeans will just become baggy shorts, and tight jeans will be still be tight shorts. Stretch jeans are not the best candidates to turn into shorts since they have rubber sew in the material. Decide what length you want:
- Capris length are cut off right at the calf, and look great with heels or sandals.
- Bermuda shorts hit at or right above the knee. Depending on the type of jeans being used, this style can be very comfortable or incredibly stylish.
- Classic shorts typically hit 3 to 5 inches above the knee. This versatile style can be dressed up or down.
- Short shorts have a hemline between 2 to 3 inches. This style is great for the beach, especially when worn with a cute bikini top.
It’s easy to cut jeans to the proper length, sew a hem if desired to prevent excess fraying, and then embellish them with lace or studs if you want. When cutting jeans, use fabric scissors.
Note: denims will get shorter as they fray. So if you want a line of fringe, the spot you mark for the cut should be about an inch below the length you want the finished shorts to be.