Easy way to make DIY distressed jeans

Ripped and distressed skinny or boyfriend jeans are so in right now.  They make the outfit quite effortless, but really stylish and put together. Being able to create a base for any outfit from casual to semi-formal dressed-up ones, distressed jeans turned into a piece of basic wardrobe you don’t want to miss out on. Everyone seems to feel the ‘distress it’ trend.

However, finding a perfect pair at the store may be not as easy as it seems. Despite the variety of distressed jeans different brands offer and the fact that literally 8 out of 10 jeans offered at the shops are more or less distressed, it may be quite hard to find the ones that suit your body shape.

Whether the rips don’t sit where they’re supposed to (like when knee rips go waaay lower than they should), or the level of distress is too much for you, or the rips expose something you’re not necessarily ready to show, a ripped jeans shopping trip might turn into a total fail.

Besides, don’t you find the fact that jeans made out of distressed and ripped fabric cost at least twice as much as normal ‘whole-piece’ trousers quite ridiculous? I do. And sometimes I just refuse to pay that much money even for cute jeans just because someone ripped them.

Finding an old pair of jeans in your own closet, in a thrift store or buying a simple inexpensive pair of jeans and tearing them apart however you want sounds a lot cheaper. Besides, I find sitting there and make different rips and holes in jeans quite calming and distressing.

If you want to relax and give a second stylish life to your old boring pair of jeans too, grab your favorite drink follow this super easy distressed jeans DIY.

Things you need to distress jeans

1. A pair of sharp scissors
2. Tweezers
3. Sanding block/paper
4. Chalk

How to distress jeans easily

1. The first thing you need to do is to inspect your closet and find perfect jeans that will look great after distressing.
   Pick a pair you won’t mind destroying. The less stretchy your jeans are, the better they’ll look.
   If you can’t find old, washed-out jeans or the ones you rarely wear, consider buying a vintage pair at the thrift store.
   They’ll probably look the best with a couple of threaded holes, patches, and knee rips.
2. Once the victim is found, put it on to decide where to distress. Mark the holes using a piece of chalk or a pencil to ensure that the size of holes, as well as their location, will make them look good and appropriate.
3. Combine smaller and bigger holes, vertical and horizontal ones, distress holes and cut rips to make your jeans look really pretty.
   Consider asymmetrical holes, as they look particularly cool.
4. A quick tip: you’re going to pull a lot of short strand out of your jeans. That’s why it’s better to work on a table or carpet-free floor for an easier clean-up.
5. Another thing is that it will take you quite a while to distress your jeans, so doing it in front of you TV or while watching your favorite movie/listening to an audio book might be a great idea.
   A tasty drink and a bowl of fruit snacks won’t harm as well.
6. Once you’re all set and ready to distress, start by sanding the future holes and the areas around them using a piece of sanding paper.
   Work harder on the holes’ edges and reduce the sanding power as you move away from them to make a smooth transition from the undamaged denim to the distressed holes.
7. After that, make a couple of horizontal slits of different length within the outlines of the hole.
   You could make just two slits at the top and at the bottom of the hole, but it would make pulling the threads out quite difficult.
   Besides, if you make more than 2 slits of different length, the shape of your hole will be a lot more interesting.
8. When the slits are made, take your tweezers and tug onto the ends of vertical dark threads on the edge of the slit and pull them out.
   Don’t touch white horizontal threads.
9. Once the inside of the hole is distressed, pull on its the top and bottom edges to make them a little bit rougher.
   Trim vertical threads that stick out too much.
   Don’t forget to distress your back pockets to complete the ripped look and clean up your mess when you’re done.
10. Cut and distress one large or two medium holes at a time and try your jeans on in between the hole-making.
    Once a couple of distressed holes appear on your jeans, you might find that the ones you pre-mark won’t look great in combination with the ones you’ve already made and you might consider changing their size and position.

After you finish distressing your jeans, try them on once again to see if you’d like to improve the shape of the holes, add a couple of smaller rips, sand the edges, etc. Once you’re satisfied with the way your jeans look, throw them into the washing machine and wash them on cold.

The wash will get rid of those bluish marks and mini-threads you didn’t manage to pull out while distressing.

Remember, that I gave you just a basic jean distressing guide. You may add patches, beads, embroidered or bleached holes, transfer various designs according to your taste.

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