While I was in California last month I found some great new denim (for myself and for the shop) but sometimes jeans can be a lot more fun when given a little extra character. I asked my friend Gina, the thrifting/DIY/vintage queen herself, to teach me how to DIY my denim I find while I'm out scouring the thrift shops. And don't worry, the risk is low if you mess up. Just hit up your local thrift like I do for great deals. I got this pair of Levi's for just $5!
What you'll need:
thrifted jeans (non-stretch denim is best), a rock (or cheese grater), fabric scissors (or regular ones), seam ripper (or tweezers)
Step 1: Try on your jeans to see where you'll want the holes to go.
Step 2: Cut two parallel lines wherever you want your holes. The fabric in between the cuts will be where you will do your thread ripping.
Step 3: Now it's time for your seam ripper! Do this part with the backside of the ripper not the front, sharp edge of it. Start pulling from the inside upward to get the white threads separated from the blue threads. This will unweave the blue threads from the white.
Step 4: Once you get it loose enough start ripping the blue threads out by hand (or with tweezers).
Repeat Steps 3 & 4 until all of the blue threads have been removed.
Step 5: Cut off the excess blue threads.
Step 6: Cheese grate (or use a rock) around the cotton to rough up your newly ripped holes. It's best to use a hand grater but we didn't have one!
Step 7: Throw them in the wash to get that extra frayed look. And of course, the more you wear them, the more worn in they'll become!
There you go! Not a lot to it, right? The process of getting all the threads unraveled is a bit time consuming but I think it's super therapeutic. This pair probably took around 30 minutes from start to finish. Do it while watching TV or when you're stressed. I promise it's relaxing. Let me know in the comments if you're going to try this out and/or have any questions. Have a great weekend, y'all!
