DIY Vintage Levi Short Cut Offs

 

 

Good Morning :) I have been up and early at the crack of dawn today! And I would like to share with you my new DIY Vintage Levi Shorts!

I love cutting my old jeans into shorts and I always get questions about how to do cut-off shorts. I have never done a tutorial because I thought it was really simple but I have been asked several questions about it so here it goes. I am focusing on standard Levi distressed cutoffs :)

 

What you will need:

1 x pair of jeans that are one or two sizes larger (for the standard levi cutoffs, mine are LEVI 501)

1x good pair of scissors that can cut through fabric

*8x cups of bleach (optional)

Washer & Dryer*

 

1) Pick a pair of jeans that you would like to cut. I always choose pants that are a size or two larger than my normal size because I dont want it to be so tight around my thighs!

 

 

2) Use a pair of shorts that you already have whose length you like and match the crotch of those shorts with the pants. Then use a ruler (or a book) and a pen to mark a line going accross. After you have made this line cut across.

 

 

3) Then fold over and line up the side you have cut to make sure both sides are even.

 

 

4) And now you should have something like this :) Try on the shorts to see if they are short enough if they look a bit wierd they probably need to be shorter (who wears short shorts?). I also cut about 1 inch slits on the side of the shorts so that they don’t stick to my thighs.

 

 

5) Now, you can either cut them slightly shorter for your desired look and frey the edges. You can do this by taking the end of the scissors with your right hand and hold the shorts tightly upwards with your left (the hand holding the scissors should pull the other end). Now scratch along roughly with the scissors. You will start too see the fabric shaving off. Or, like me, you can just fold up the edges.

 

 

 

6) Many people like to bleach wash there cut offs, I haven't bothered this time as you can see, they already have the tatty bleached affect already. But here's how to do it if you desire :)

If you are going for the cutoff and not fold up look, I advise putting your shorts through a wash after you have freyed the edges as this makes the 'tattyness' come out more.

 

Put about 8 cups of bleach and enough water to submerge them. Levis 501′s are already treated so it takes a long time to change the color. I would leave them in bleach for 5 minutes then let them hang for 30 min and repeat this until you achieve your desired colour.

 

 

 

It doesnt matter if you mess it up, because you can always buy another pair from a charity shop for less than £5!!

So, what do you think? Have you made any DIY clothing before?

If so, paste a link in the comment box below, i'd love to see it :)

Rachael x