For quite a while, I only owned 2 pairs of jeans.
I didn't wear them often, only on the weekends, because I was still working and they were not considered professional dress.
When I made the decision to retire, I also knew that I was changing out a wardrobe of "teacher clothes" for items that were much more casual but still on trend and classy.
So, I sent my professional wardrobe to Thred Up and once I got paid for those items I turned around that cash and purchased MANY pairs of jeans from them.
This is one such pair.
My favorite jeans for my body type are Chicos. I like the way they fit me every time, and they wash and wear great!
Since I had purchased about a dozen or so pairs, I've been wanting to distress the hems of these jeans for quite awhile. So I just dove in and did it.
Here's how to do it yourself.
Gather the pair of jeans you want to distress and a good pair of sharp scissors.
Lay them out flat, making sure to button the top if there is a button. You want your jeans to be as even on both the right and left side, otherwise, your hems will not match.
Decide how far UP from the original hem you want the new distress hem to be.
I recommend you try them on and mark with a pin, or use another pair of pants that you like where the hem hits your leg.
Remember, the pin represents the BOTTOM of the new distressed hem.
You can mark this imaginary line with tailor's chalk, or if you are good a cutting a fairly straight line, simply cut straight across.
Save the cut portion.
You will want to use it to "mark" your other pant leg.
Now, cut across that leg using your guide.
I wanted my distressed hem to be 3 inches long.
I placed a pin at the 3-inch mark just along the front side of both pant legs.
It only took 3 pins for each leg.
Now comes the fun part...
STARTING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PANT LEG (Very Important), I made a straight cut up to but not past the straight pin.
I cut both the FRONT and the BACK at the same time.
Starting in the middle allows you to evenly distribute all your cuts across both the front and back of the leg.
I moved my scissors about a quarter inch to the right and cut another strip up to but not past the straight pin.
I kept repeating this process until I got the far right of the leg. I repeated towards the left part of the leg. At some point, you will hit the side seams of the legs.
Here's how you attack those thicker sewn pieces.
Pick up and separate this larger piece of fabric. See how I did this in the photo above?
Now, using your scissors, cut just like you did on the regular parts of the leg.
You will get a piece that has the seam, but that's okay. It will disappear within the distressed part of the fringes once you are done.
Your jeans will look like this, but you're not done yet.
Now, using your fingers, start "scratching" your fingernails toward the bottom of the fringes. Keep doing this and you will start to see the distressing taking place.
Small bits of fabric fiber will begin to come loose. Keep going! The more you scratch, the more the fringes will curl and give up those bits of cut fibers that are running side to side in the weave.
This is what you want!
As the cross fibers are coming loose, you can grab them and pull them out.
Don't be afraid if you need to tug a bit. That's okay. it will help the fringes to really become more and more distressed.
Here's a great side by side comparison of the scratched side (left) and the untouched side (right).
You can also use a wire bristle hair brush, BUT I didn't have the same effect as I did when I simply used my fingers.
Now comes the last part.
Take your jeans to the washing machine.
Put your setting on heavy duty so that the jeans get really tumbled and "hard washed" in the machine.
If you don't have this setting on your machine, throw some towels in with your jeans. They will help to "rough" up those babies as well.
I used a warm setting, high spin, and normal soil level.
I did lightly dry them in the dryer until they were damp, and from there I let them line dry.
Here was the result:
With a new pair of casual wedge sandals. Perfect for shopping and walking around.
With my leopard pointed flats. Dressier but still casual. Add a black T and a fun pink sweater or jacket...A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!
And finally with my only pair of heels (I know, but I can no longer wear "real heels" because they kill me). Add a fancy black jacket and sequined tank underneath...I'm ready for a night out with the hubby to a fancy restaurant.
I priced ready-made jeans for this and found them to be anywhere for $50 (on sale) upwards of $200 (which I would NEVER spend on any pair of jeans or pants).
These jeans were $12.00 on Thred Up, and the cost to distress was free.
I bet you already have a pair, OR you can find something at your local thrift store.
Being on-trend doesn't mean you have to break the bank.
You just have to break the rules!
Post a Comment