DIY Inexpensive Ways to Distress Denim at Home

The distressed style of jeans has been in and out of fashion since the 1980s, but of late the trend is more popular than ever. Purchasing distressed jeans from a branded store can be an expensive affair. However, if you know the right way to distress your denim at home, it’s fun and quite easy. Let’s take a look at the step by step process to distress denim at home.

1. First of all you need to select the pair of denim that you wish to distress. Try choosing a pair of denims that you do not mind being ripped. In case you don’t have the experience ofdistressing jeans previously, it is advisable that you choose a pair that you do not mind being damaged during the process.

2.Before distressing, try on your pair of denims and mark the areas you wish to distress.Denims are usually distressed at the knees, upper thighs, back pockets, or at the sides. Mark the areas properly with a chalk or marker. For instance, if you wish to distress the upper thigh area, decide where you wish the rips to show while wearing your jeans. In case you haven’t distressed denims previously, it is advisable that you do not distress the sides, as these areas rip easily. If you wish to distress your back pockets, then it is not required to try on the denims.

3. Next, look for a flat work station with good lighting. For instance, your kitchen counter can be a suitable spot. Ensure that you lay something down such as a tarp to catch the fabric scraps.

4. Although optional, you may run sandpaper on the selected areas lightly. When you sandpaper the denims, it makes the cutting and tweezing process easier, especially if your pair of denims is thick. If you wish to give your pair of denims that faded look, running sandpaper is a good option. Use the sandpaper to lightly sand the areas, until the color fades and the fabric wears down slightly.

5. It is advisable that you insert a piece of cardboard into the denims. Cut out the piece of cardboard till it fits into the legs of your denims and insert it. This is done to ensure that you do not end up accidentally cutting through to the back of your denims.

6. The next step is to cut or scrape horizontal slits in the areas that you wish to distress. You can use either a pair of scissors or a regular razor for this process. In case you want clean holes, then you need to cut horizontal lines across your denims. If you wish white threads to show, then you need to scrape the edge of the blade across the denims in order to expose the white threads. It is advisable to keep the size of your cuts half an inch to three quarters of an inch apart. If you are planning to distress the sides of denims, you need to stay away from the side seams to avoid ripping off completely.

7. After making the cuts, pull out the excess fabric with the help of tweezers till the holes are covered with bare strands of thread. Keep pulling out as many threads as you can in the areas where you made the slits. Try removing all the colored threads so that only the white threads are spread across the holes.

8. Clean up the debris collected around in and around the area with a lint roller. This is done as there are usually loose fabrics and thread across the denims after you cut and tweeze them. Run the lint roller till you feel that all the excess fabric has been cleaned off.

9. It’s time to wash your denims now. This will remove any residual debris and thread from the denims. You should use a cold wash to protect your denims. Avoid using warm or hot water. After washing in cold water, you can dry your denims in the usual manner before you wear them.

Tip: Do not wash your denims too often. Distressed denims should be washed sparingly to prevent tears.