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Hey guys! Today I’m going to show you how to turn your jeans into a pair of distressed
shorts. This is what they looked like before, and
here’s what they look like after. It’s really easy to make these and I’m
going to show you how! First get a pair of jeans that fit around
the waist area. I’m using these bright yellow jeans from JC penny. They fit well and have
cute studs on the pocket. I chose these because I got a stain on the pant leg and I tried
getting it out, but even oxyclean didn’t work, so I’m just gunna cut above the stain
so the pants are still usable. Get a pencil and mark where you want to cut.
Do this while you are wearing the pants so you will know how the pants will look on you
once they’re cut. Make the lines on both sides even and mark the inside seams too.
If you’re unsure of how short to cut them, go longer than you want so you can shorten
it later, cuz you’re better safe than sorry! Get some scissors that can cut through fabric,
mine were from Walmart, and cut a little slit on one side of the shorts, at the place you
marked with the pencil. Cut the front part of the pants to the inseam. Do the same thing
on the other side. Now flip the pants over and cut to the marked
line. I cut the back side a little longer than the front because I’ve seen a lot of
jean shorts that have longer backs. Fold the pants over and match up the two sides,
then cut the same shape on the other half of the pants. This ensures that the sides
will be even. This is what your shorts should look like.
Now it’s time for the fun part. Get a box cutter or utility knife like this one, and
use it to fray the edges of the shorts. If you do a back and forth motion it makes some
stray strands pop out and roughens up the edges. It gives the nice frayed look which
is what distressed shorts are all about! Do this all along the edges of the pants.
Be careful when using the knife near your fingers cuz it’s super sharp and dangerous.
If you’re younger, you might want to get a parent to help you. Now stab it, drag it,
pull it, rip it, whatever you want to do the the edges, just make them look jaggedy.
This is what it looks like after I tore apart the edges of the shorts. Pretty good huh?
It’s a lot different than the other side, so it’s time to destroy that one too. Get
out your knife and have fun! This process did take a little while, so be patient. It
takes even longer to distress the body of the shorts!
The first part I’m pulling apart is the side. This was the second flaw in my pants
so I’m getting rid of it by making a slit above and below it. Then, get a pin or a tack
and use it to individually pull out the horizontal threads. When you find a string that doesn’t
fall out when you pull, gently pull it down keeping it attached on both sides, then keep
going all the way up through the middle piece of fabric.
Eventually you will get to the point when you’re almost done and the vertical strings
come out easily, so you can just pull those out instead of pulling the horizontal ones
down. It’s much quicker. Now you want to fray the edges of the slits
above and below the shredded part. Now it’s nice and destroyed!
Now we’re shredding over the pocket, so pull that out through the top so you don’t
accidentally cut it. Now cut three slits over the pocket area with your scissors. Do the
same thing to this area that you just did to the side of the shorts. I also did this
to the other side but with only two slits. This takes a very long time if you do it right,
so be patient. Now your distressed shorts are finished! These
are what they look like on. I like how one side is super distressed, and the other side
is less, so they’re not symmetrical. We’re going for a messy look so I didn’t want
the sides to have the same amount of distress. Overall, I’m really happy with how they
turned out, and I’m glad I chose this pair of pants to alter. If you guys try this out
on your pants, tweet me a picture so I can see your creation! Thanks for watching, and
don’t forget to subscribe if you like my videos! My blog link is down below if you
want to check it out, and I’ll see you in my next video! Bye!