DIY Denim!

Hey Guys!

So when I went to get changed today I put a pair of denim jeans on that had gotten a hole in them quite a while ago. The hole wasn't particularly big but over time it's gotten bigger and bigger, so now it just looks like it's gaping, and looks a bit trampy so I decided to make them into shorts. I really wanted a pair of denim shorts for the summer, so I thought why not save some money and make them myself. I've made shorts from pants before so I thought I'd just show you how I did it :)

So from these jeans.....

to these funky denim shorts.

So if you would like to see the transformation just keep reading :)

To start the only things you'll need are:

A pair of scissors

And some chalk (optional but it just helps)

 The first thing you need to do with lay your jeans out flat on the floor facing up. Then this is optional but I don't like cutting the whole leg off at once so I fold the jean leg up at the knee so it creases and then I draw a line with my chalk where I want to cut it.

 and then this is the result. You could always leave the jeans like this with the 3/4 length. It's great for summer, and they're really fun to wear with a pair of dolly shoes or converse. 

 The next thing you need to do, preferably when you have the jeans on, is mark where you want to cut the leg off at. I recommend doing it a little bit longer than you want them to be, because you can always trim them to the proper length you want later on. Just mark the length you want with some chalk or a pencil.

And then you can take them off and draw a line the whole way across the leg. Then start to cut the leg across the line. It doesn't have to be especially neat because you can always trim them neater later on.

So after you've cut the front of the jeans, turn them over so they're face down and carry on with the same line along the back. If it helps draw the line in chalk first like I have done.

 And then just trim the edges to make sure they look neat. 

After you've done this, do exactly the same with the other leg, making sure the leg lengths stay the same. If you trim one side a little bit, make sure you trim the other side the same amount so they look even.

Eventually they should look something like this:

But as you can see from the second picture, the bottom of my shorts at the back is longer than the front so I took them off again and trimmed them down. I kept repeating this, trying them on for size, and then taking them off and trimming away some of the length until they were the size I wanted them to be. Eventually I got them the way I wanted them.

And finally, to finish them off I didn't want the bottom of my shorts to be straight, because they obviously look cut so I started to fray the bottoms. To fray the shorts I just picked at the white threading at the bottom, so it came out of place. This left the ends of the blue threads on their own, which made them look fuzzy. I carried on doing this all the way round the bottom of the shorts and got this effect:

You don't have to do this but I think it makes the shorts look a whole look better.

And there you have it, brand new looking shorts. These shorts are perfect for the summer or because the weather here in the UK is still FREEZING you can always pair them with some tights and a long sleeved tee. I can't wait to wear these and take them on my holidays, where I can wear over my bikini by the pool or on the beach. I'm getting way too excited!

So I hoped this helped if you were making your own shorts, and if you did, let me know how they went. But if you were just reading this for inspiration, I hope they inspired you to create your own. You don't even need a nice pair of jeans. I've used a cheap pair from a charity shop before or even hand me down clothes are perfect, you don't need to spend loads on a pair of jeans just to cut them up. I've had these jeans for years and I think they are finally worn, but not anymore! I can get loads more wears out of these shorts now!

Hope you like them,

Stay Happy, 

Sarah