Once upon a time, I used to head to American Eagle to find my coveted favorite pair of cutoff denim shorts for any given summer. Considering the look of shorts (slouchy or skimpy) tended change from one season to another, I certainly didn’t need a pair that would last longer than a few months. But recently I got to thinking about the DIY pair of cutoffs and their advantages over store bought versions. There are a ton of ways to customize them, so you’re wearing something that’s a reflection of your individual style, meaning they’re the only ones on the planet. It’s a green move that lessens my carbon footprint. And given that these shorts were made by me, I’d likely grow attached. They could be like the T-shirt I can never get rid of, but keep wearing and swear gets better with every wash. I like having feelings for my clothes, sue me. In consideration of these musings, I became a girl with a mission: make the perfect pair of cutoffs at home. Below you’ll see exactly how I did it and walk away with the skills to make this your next Sunday afternoon project. Caution: I recommend looking at the entire slideshow before you begin. May the DIY force be with you.
DIY: How to Make THE Perfect Pair of Cutoffs for Summer
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So It Begins
I would have started with a pair of jeans that were already faded, but all of my lighter denim is still on pants rotation. So I grabbed these instead, which actually turned out to be a good move because it proves you can make the perfect pair of cutoffs from pretty much any pair of jeans.
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The Cut
Seen here, use some sort of measuring tool and a piece of chalk to cut off your first pant leg. Turn your pants inside out so you don't risk cutting into the pockets. 3 or 4 inches is a good rule of thumb to measure down from the crotch of the pant. Always make them a bit longer than you think you'll want, allowing for fraying and the option to cuff them if you want to later on. Or cut them shorter.
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The Second Cut
Keep pants inside out and fold the cut leg half over the non-cut leg. Then use the hem of your just-cut leg as a guide to make the second leg the same length.
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To Distress
By now you have a pair of cutoff shorts; it's on to what makes the shorts your personal creation. I used a cheese grater and sandpaper to give the denim a more worn-in look. Note: the cheese grater was much faster than the sandpaper.
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Exhibit A
The left side of the pocket has been distressed with sandpaper, while the right side has not. See the diff?
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Exhibit B
I worked over the legs and fly of the shorts with the cheese grater. This is what it looked like.
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Get Stripping
After you're done distressing, you'll want to make a series of horizontal cuts into your shorts that create strips (I'll explain in a minute), how long you make them and how many you make is up to you.
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The Strips
This is what they look like. Make them longer if you want or more than two if you want. This is going to create frayed holes in your shorts, so choose wisely in placement. In order for the shorts not to fall apart, make the strips at least half an inch wide and 1.5 inches long.
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Optional
This part can be tricky and time consuming, so it's up to you. After you've cut your strips, you can leave them as is, or you can pre-distress to expose the lateral threads. This gives them a genuinely worn-in look, as opposed to just short frayed edges. You need tweezers and patience.
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Extreme Closeup
Take the tweezers and pull out the blue threads that run through your cut strip. They're hard to see. Here you can see I've already pulled out just one; it's the vertical white line in the center of the strip. Keep pulling out the blue threads (it gets easier the more you pull) along the length of the strip. It looks like this...
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Extreme Closeup
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Extreme Closeup
And then like this. After you've pulled and cut and distressed to your liking, it's time for color change (if you want). I wanted to lighten my shorts, so I bleached them. I put them in a tub of 2 parts water to 1 part bleach and let them soak for about an hour. Use all cautions for handling bleach labeled on the bottle. Then I threw them in the washer and dryer to finish the job.
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Voila!
My babies. The frayed holes in the shorts are a result of the strips. The top left fray is the effect I got from my tweezer pulling, the rest of the strips I left alone to fray in the dryer.
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Custom Job
At this point, there are still more options for making the shorts your own. You can splatter paint on them. Instead of bleaching the entire pair, you can sponge on bleach (wearing rubber gloves!) or even give them an oil stain or two. The Met Gala brought out a love for punk detailing I didn't know I had, so I added a few decorative safety pins to my pair, as seen here. Safety pins are also a good way to save a pair of shorts you've accidentally put a too-big hole in. Just pin it together.
