About the Project:
Are you ready for Spring Break? I know I am. What’s your travel destination? Hopefully somewhere warm! Instead of breaking out the shorts, I’ll be bundling up because I’m going to Alaska to see the Northern Lights. But that doesn’t mean I can’t help you guys turn winter clothes into summery ones. Cue the shorts! And here is the perfect DIY. The whole idea of doing DIY projects is to save money by revamping old clothes. What better way to do so than by turning old jeans into shorts? This is the perfect way to get the most out of the clothes you no longer wear. And they’re great for dip-dying (that blog post to come!)
Materials Needed:
-Old Jeans
-Fabric scissors/Scissors
-Measuring tape
-Pencil
-Xacto Knife
Step-by-Step:
1) Take your old jeans and lay them out flat on the floor. Decide how long you want your shorts’ inseam to be—mine are usually 2.5” to 3”. Measure this out with your measuring tape against the inseam and mark it with a dark pencil on both pant legs.
2) From the point that you marked, use your scissors to cut at an upward slant (this allows the shorts to sit correctly when you wear them). Make sure to avoid any jagged edges when cutting. Do this to both sides. To make sure they are what you want, try the shorts on and make any further adjustments if necessary. I usually need to cut the front of the shorts off more and keep the back length.
3) Now on to the distressing! To make frayed edges on your shorts, run your scissors’ sharp edge against the ends of the shorts. This will release the loose fabric. Distress them as much as you like. To get them more distressed, throw your shorts in the dryer to pull the fabric out more and get the curled effect.
4) Optional: To distress your shorts further, take a Xacto knife and cut a few lines into the material on either or both sides. Be sure to not cut too close to the crotch or side of the shorts or else the cuts will come out badly. Again, the dryer will make the shorts do the work for you and distress them even more.
5) There you go! You now have made something un-wearable in your closet into something you will be happy to show off on the beach. And (maybe) you can show them off soon after in Pittsburgh! P.S. Look out for a future blog on how to dip-dye your new shorts.