DIY Distressed denim shorts

So a big trend this summer is distressed denim shorts...and its pretty hard to find a pair that are comfy and are the right length. I decided I wasn't gonna pay $80 for a well known designer pair, I just can't do it. If you know me...if I can make it myself cheaper then thats the route I'm gonna go. Being the big thrifter that I am I decided I would set out to find a pair of jeans at the Goodwill. I did not find any on my first trip. Never give up on thrifting. My second try I had better luck and scored an old pair of wide leg gap jeans. NO STRETCH! 100% cotton. This made a huge difference is distressing. 100% cotton will show more threads. I have distressed stretchy skinny jeans and it can be done, it just depends on what kind of look you are going for.  Stretching jeans are gonna have bigger holes, lesser threads. My vision was a light wash boyfriend style of denim shorts.

A pic of my thrifted Gap jeans

I used an old pair of shorts as a template to cut the right length for my shorts. Make sure you keep the crotch area seams together, this keeps the back a little bit longer for room in the butt. The back part  will usually we taller than the front.

So I researched on the many ways on how to distress denim. I had all the tools...an exacto knife, tweasers, sandpaper, and a cheese grater. After trying various methods, I found that the cheese grater worked the best for me, and thats all I really needed. The grater was able to slowly pull away the layer of denim to show the threads that I really wanted. I did have quite a mess with all the fuzz flying but it gave the perfect effect. I basically just scrubbed the heck out of the jeans in all the places I wanted distressing. I did the pockets and fly area too.

Here is a pic of the cheese grater I bought at the Dollar Tree.

Before and after pic of my DIY

I also asked my thrifty friend Andrea (@keepinitthrifty) to collaborate on this DIY. I was curious to see what she would come up with. She found a vintage pair of high-waisted levi jeans at her goodwill.

She cut hers about 2 inches below the inseam, leaving enough room so they could be cuffed. She distressed hers by cutting a series of slits...about 5 or so on the pockets. (Make sure you dont cut through the pocket itself.) She also used a cheese grater to go over the slits to give them a rough look and to show more threads. Wash and then dry.

We both thrifted our jeans for $4.99 at goodwill and the cheese grater at Dollar Tree for $1.00. Its a steal for a summer staple. Dress it up or dress it down. The possibilities are endless without busting the bank!