Sunkissed DIY: Distressed Jeans

Fall is here! Time to pull out the jeans, sweaters, leggings, & boots!

I love jeans, but I hate buying them! It takes me forever to find a pair that is comfortable AND fits me right. So, instead of going and buying a new pair of jeans, the other day I decided to take an older pair I had and give them a fun, new look! I've always had mixed feelings about jeans with holes in them, but recently I've been digging the style, so I decided to just make myself a pair! Didn't take that long at all, and turned out just how I had hoped!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

1. A pair of jeans that you don't mind cutting up but still like the way they look on you
2. A box cutter or other really sharp blade
3. Sand paper (I didn't have any and didn't feel like going to the store, so I just used a pumice stone and it worked great!)
4. A thick piece of cardboard or card stock

WHAT YOU DO:

1. If you're not sure where your knee goes, just fold the pant leg in half, up to the crotch, and where the crease is in the leg is the section you're going to cut for the knee holes. Make a little box with a pencil, so you have some guidelines.
   
2. Grab that piece of cardboard and push it down into the leg until its laying right behind where you made your lines. This way the blade doesn't go through to the back of the leg!
   
3. Now, take your box cutter or blade and starting at the top line make a firm cut straight across the leg (leaving about an inch to the seam on either side). Keep making these cuts, leaving about 1/4 inch between each one, until you get to the bottom line that your drew. I made some cuts shorter than others, just to give the hole a more jagged edge.

It should look something like this!

4.  I also made some smaller cuts (as you can see in the photo above) above/to the side of the big ones, to add a little more natural wear and tear look to the pants. 

5.  Go ahead and do the same process on the other leg.

6.  I also wanted to make the bottoms of the pants and the pockets look worn as well, which you can do very easily:

• Cut the bottoms of the back of your pants just above the seam and use your sand paper or stone to wear down the seams, sides and very bottoms of the pants. Take the blade cutter and cut some horizontal slits right above where you cut the material off as well.
  
  
  
  

• Now, put the cardboard into the front pockets, one at a time, and make a few cuts, horizontal or vertical, on/around the pockets. Then take your sandpaper or pumice stone and wear down the edges of the pockets, around the fly and button, and anywhere else you want to take out some pent-up aggression!
  
  
  
  
  
• We can't forget about the back pockets! Remember the cell phone or lip gloss holes you got in your back pockets back in high school?! Ya, we wanna relive those days with these jeans. Make a few slits in the bottom corner (don't forget to put the cardboard as a shield first!), top corner, rub the sandpaper at the corner seams and across the top and boom, you're done-zo!
  
  
  
• You can also "sand-down" the belt loops, anywhere on the seams, on the pant leg seams, just basically wherever you want to add a little more wear and tear look!
• Now throw them in the wash and then dry completely - TWO TIMES for the best results!
• Put them on with a flowy tank or tee, some sandals or sturdy lace-up boots and you're ready to hit the town! Or just look at them and reminisce about your high school crush. :)
  

Until next time, keep dreaming. xoxo