Love the look of distressed denim but not the price? If you’re like me and have dozens of pairs of jeans that you never wear, grab a pair that still fits and distress them yourself! Why pay $228 for a pair of Current/Elliott The Skinny Jeans when you can make your own for practically free!? This is also a great party idea– invite a group of girlfriends and tell them all to bring a pair of jeans they want to distress– pour a few glasses of bubbly and it’s a DIY Denim party!
1. Plan before you distress: With your jeans on, mark the areas you want to distress with a pencil
2. Prepare proper tools:
Cheese Grater– gives the roughest texture
Sandpaper– has a slightly less worn look
Nail File- around hem and pocket areas
3. Protect your work: Put some fabric seam glue around each hole so they won’t grow bigger (this happened to me in the 80′s, I cut holes in my jeans and they grew so big my ‘cheeks’ fell out and I had to stop wearing them!).
4. Gentle Detergent: Wash the jeans inside out with a gentle detergent. I like Dreft baby detergent!
(Tips From Lucky Magazine)
Cheese grater, that’s brilliant!
The best way to distress jeans is to use pumice stones (the same kind of stones that are use for pedicures). That’s what denim manufacturers actually use to stonewash jeans, they toss the jeans in a huge washing machine with pumice stones.
The fabric seam glue idea is brilliant! I’ve always wondered how to prevent the holes from growing- I’d never thought of it!