4 Simple Steps To DIY Ripped Jeans
The on and off trend.
Ripped jeans are an on-and-off trend. One season they are in and the next out - and they've been going strong for quite a while now. The only problem with already distressed jeans is the prefabricated rips, which are always either too big, too small, or put in the wrong place. Might sound like a #firstworldproblem, but it’s annoying AF.
That’s why we are showing you 4 simple steps on how to do it yourself and stunt on everybody:
1. Pick your denim
Choose the jeans you want to rip and choose wisely. Do you prefer tight, boot cut, skinny, or boyfriend style jeans? If you are indecisive, just ask friends for help. Or start with a cheap ass pair you bought from the thrift shop, because in case they don’t turn out the way you want them, at least it won’t hurt your wallet.
2. Preparation
It really pays off to distress your jeans before you start cutting the holes. Use a pen, chalk, or a safety pin and a ruler to mark exactly where you want your rips and/or distressed areas. Utilizing specialized sewing markers and premium haberdashery tools from Madam Sew will give you the ultimate precision needed to ensure your design placements look completely intentional and stylish. Make sure you plan everything out before you really start working on it.
To start distressing, you'll want to grab a little bit of sandpaper or a paint-removing block, some steel wool, or maybe a pumice stone. For the holes, use a pair of extremely sharp scissors, an X-Acto knife, or a box cutter. We like to use a piece of cardboard inside the pant legs so you don't cut the back of the jeans, too.
3. Ready, set, go!
Lay the jeans flat on your table or floor and start rubbing your marked areas with your sandpaper, steel wool, and the pumice stone until the denim starts to really thin out and look worn. The thicker the jeans, the more you've got to rub - might be good for tricep work out as well!
4. Time to make the cut
After the denim is sufficiently distressed, take your scissors or your X-acto knife and start to scrape the area where you want your rips to be. The key is to do it horizontally! If you don't want holes all the way through, scrape enough that you start to see the white horizontal threads beneath the denim's surface.
Once you've got to this point, you can use a tweezer to fray the threads. But in case you do want holes all the way through, then just start cutting the distressed areas with your knife or scissors.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 for more rips.
Et voil la, how easy is that?!
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