5 Ways to Customize Your Cutoffs

Kelly Bryden

Kelly Bryden, an east coast native, is stoked to be a part of the Brit + Co team. Design, DIY, and fashion are her passions. If she isn't crafting you can catch her on the dance floor or wrapped up in aerial silks.

Full Bio

Jun 28, 2014

It’s summer time and that means it’s time to cut up your old jeans. Last year we brought you three trendy ways to update those old jeans and this year we are bringing you five more!

We’ll show you how to update jeans into stylish cut-offs and how to add some new flare to those shorts that just hang out in the bottom of your drawers.

With 4th of July and the World Cup happening at the same time these shorts are a MUST. Plus American flag anything, at anytime, is always a win.

American Flag Cut-Offs

Materials:

– jeans

– fabric paint (red and white)

– paper

– pen

– painter’s tape

Tools:

– paint brush

– foam brush

– scissors

Instructions:

1. Try on your jeans and mark where you want your shorts to end. Fold the jeans in half and cut about 1 inch under your mark.

2. Using tape, create stripes on the right side of the shorts. Paint the stripes red, wait for them to dry, then peel off tape and paint that area white.

3. Fold a piece of paper in half, draw and cut out a star shape. This will be your star stencil.

4. Place stencil on the left hand side of the shorts. Hold in place and use the foam paint brush to create the stars.

Let’s get making!

Try on your jeans and mark the length of where you want the jeans to fall. Using scissors, cut about 1 inch below the line that you marked. Remember, you can always cut away more but you can’t add more back on ;)

On the right hand side, use painter’s tape to create the stripes. Once the red is dry, peel back the tape and paint in the white.

Use the paper to create a star stencil. Fold the paper in half and draw half of a star. Cut out and place on your shorts. Use the foam brush to apply the paint.

Listen up! We’ll show you how to create custom colorful cut-offs in five easy steps.

Colored Cut-Offs

Materials:

– jeans

– bleach

– fabric dye

– pen

Tools:

– scissors

Instructions:

1. Try on your jeans and mark where you want your shorts to end. Fold the jeans in half and cut about 1 inch under your mark.

2. In a large tub create a mixture that is half bleach + half water. Let shorts soak for an hour.

3. Ring out and wash your shorts to prep them for coloring.

4. Mix ⅔ water with ⅓ fabric dye. Let shorts sit in dye for an hour.

5. Ring out and wash in washing machine.

Let’s get dying!

Just like the American Flag shorts, try these jeans on to find the perfect length for your shorts. Cut one inch below your line because you can always cut more, you can’t add on what you’ve already cut. Next, create a mixture that is half water, half bleach. Let your shorts soak for about an hour. Completely immerse the shorts in the bleach, you don’t want to have uneven spots. Once they’ve soaked, rinse the shorts and let them completely dry.

Brand, color, and quality of your jeans are just some factors that influence how the bleach will react to your jeans. Most jeans won’t turn completely white. Make sure you don’t leave them in the solution for longer than one hour. The bleach will eat away at the threads and make them very weak. This means it will easily tear in awkward spots. Trust me, I may or may not know from experience =(

Check that out! Now our jeans didn’t turn completely white, but they are now light enough to show some color.

Time to turn these cut-offs a nice Radiant Orchid. Create a mixture of water and dye. You don’t need too much dye, just enough to get the water a solid rich color. Soak the shorts in the dye for about an hour. Once again make sure all spots are covered so you don’t have any weird spots. Once they’ve soaked up enough color, rinse them out and put them in the washing machine. Wash these alone because they will bleed and mess up your other clothes!

Now this is what I’m talking about! A perfect shade of purple.

We’ve accepted the fact that we’ll never get tired of studs, and I hope you have, too :)

Studded Cut-Offs

Materials:

– studs

– jeans

Tools:

– scissors

– pen

– cheese grater

– flat nosed pliers

Instructions:

1. Try on your jeans and mark where you want your shorts to end. Fold the jeans in half and cut about 1 inch under your mark.

2. Use the cheese grater to distress your jeans. You will want to leave the white weaving behind and pull the denim weaving with pliers.

3. Lay studs on jeans to figure out a perfect placement.

4. Poke studs through and use pliers to bend down the backs.

Let’s jazz up these jeans.

Try on your jeans to cut them to your desired length. Then go crazy with the cheese grater! This will give you a nice distressed look. Use your pliers to pull away the denim threads, but leave the horizontal white ones behind. Trim away any excess to get a nice distressed rip.

Lay your studs out in a pattern before you start studding. This will help you with spacing so you don’t make unnecessary holes. Once you’ve got them in place, poke them through the jeans and, using the pliers, bend the back handles down.

What a stud.

Enough with the old jeans, I’m sure you have old shorts that also never get touched! Here are some ways to update preexisting jean shorts.

Ombre Shorts

Materials:

– shorts

– fabric dye

Instructions:

1. Mix ⅘ water with ⅕ fabric dye. Dip shorts in dye ⅔ of the way.

2. Add more dye and dip shorts half way.

3. Ring and wash in washing machine.

When I dip, you dip, we dip.

Mix about 4/5 water with 1/5 dye. This is your first layer of color so we want it to be pretty muted. Dip the shorts about 3/4 of the way into the dye. Use your fingers to blend in the top line of dye.

Add more dye to the mixture you already have. Dip shorts in half way and let sit for 30 minutes. This will give you a nice rich color. Then rinse and toss into the washing machine.