Blushing Dahlia

It’s true, I have an unhealthy obsession with holes in my jeans. Most of my denim collection consists of distressed jeans. I do have some with no distressing. At my job we can’t wear jeans only, on days where the elementary school kids do (free dress days are the best days). When I can wear jeans at work, I wear jeans with no holes because I still want to look professional (a previous school I worked at allowed jeans, but none with holes). Anyways, I have been eyeing jeans with big holes on the knees, not just slits in the knees. Actual holes cut out of the knee. I love this pair (inspiration for these jeans) and this pair, but I had some jeans in the back of my closet that I don’t really ever wear, so I figured I could DIY.

Supplies you need:

scissors (preferably fabric scissors, but any will do)

tweezers

sandpaper or steel wool

chalk

Step 1: Find a pair of old jeans you would like to distress.I have had these for so long and haven’t worn them more than a handful of times.

Step 2: Try on your jeans and use chalk to mark where you will cut. I used permanent marker, but I wouldn’t recommend that incase you make a mistake, so use chalk, wipes right off. I drew a line at the hem of the pant so I can shorten the length and fray the hem. On my knees, I roughly marked how wide the hole will need to be. Start small because if you cut too much there’s no turning back.

Step 3: Use your scissors to cut where you marked. I was in a hurry and didn’t care if my hole was perfect. I will explain why in the next step.

Step 4: You will see the denim has a grain, threads going vertical and horizontal. Using your tweezers, go ahead and start pulling on the threads going horizontal. It doesn’t take long for the hole to appear frayed. Keep doing it until you’ve reached the look you were going for. (I did this to the holes and the hem.) You will not be able to tell if your hole was cute perfectly because your will be pulling the threads out.

Step 5: Rub sandpaper or steel woolen the part you cut. This will give it and even more distressed look. I didn’t have time, but will do this eventually.

Step 6: (Optional) Wash your jeans to help give the new holes a worn down look. Also it’s not good to wash your denim too much, trust me! Washing them actually wears them down and fades them. Jeans technically don’t get very dirty unless you are spilling stuff all over them.

It took me less than 10 minutes to do this to my jeans. These might be a new favorite of mine! The following photos are close ups of the finished product. I plan on going back to distress a little bit more. Happy Wednesday!