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DIY denim for the win!

4 Ways to Embellish Your Jeans With Studs + Leather

4 Ways to Embellish Your Jeans With Studs + Leather

As you may know, Forever 21 is a close friend of our closets. We love how their pieces are always on trend and at a great value. Well guess what? They just let us know that their 17.90 denim collection has just added five new washes, including light denim, light gray, light gray acid, medium denim, and light denim acid. We’ll be the first to say that these high-waisted denim jeans are incredibly comfortable and stretchy. A true denim dream.


We teamed up with the folks at Forever 21 to create four fun embellishments to make your denim your own. We even hosted a couple par-DIYs in San Francisco and New York to show makers, bloggers and other creative folks how to DIY it up. Scroll on to the bottom of this post to see a few snapshots from both events.

Now let’s get to the DIY.

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Materials:

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– Forever 21 17.90 denim

– studs

– leather

– fabric

Tools:

– hot glue + hot glue gun

– pliers

– scissors

We stocked up on studs, faux leather and a gorgeous patterned print.

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Cuff the bottom on the jeans and cut out a piece of leather the size of your cuff. Ours was about 2 x 4 inches. Place hot glue on the seams and attach the leather. Notice that you won’t want to cover the seams. These jeans are super stretchy so you’ll need to leave room to let the jeans stretch!

Leather + Stud Cuffs

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Then take your studs and create a pattern to embellish the outside seam. Poke the studs all the way through and use the pliers to bend down the arms of the stud.

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Leather + studs always make for a stellar combo. We are loving the juxtaposition of mixed metals and dark jeans.

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Cut a piece of fabric that is about 2 x 4 inches. Cuff the bottom of your jeans and place hot glue on the seams. Attach fabric to the front and back of the cuff. Remember to leave a gap at the seams for stretching room.

Patterned Fabric Cuffs

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Why not stud all the way down the side?! Use your studs to create a pattern. Stab them through the jeans and then bend the arms using the pliers. Make sure you bend the arms of the stud really well because you wouldn’t want them to poke and scratch your skin while you’re wearing them. Eek!

Stud Machine

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Uh, yeah. We are all about the studs.

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Were those studs not enough for you? Well, we have a great solution. These studs come attached to one another, which makes them EXTREMELY easy to apply. Cut the thickness you want for your cuff and attach to the seams using hot glue. Do not wrap all the way around the cuff. Leave some room for stretch at the seams.

Studs to the MAX

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Stud central, baby.

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We can’t even begin to pick a favorite.

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Studs, fabric, leather, or all together — you decide!

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These jeans will cover all of your favorite looks, from boho chic to glam gal!

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The patterned fabric jeans paired perfectly with belted booties. Remember those?! Oldie but EXTREME goodie!

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Styling secret: studs don’t have to be edgy. We paired the studded seam pants with a cute crocheted top and patterned sneakers for a more laid back feel.

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Remember those events we mentioned? Here are a few snaps from the San Francisco event, right here at Brit + Co.

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Jeans for days — loving all those washes!

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Loving those pocket accents on the pair of jeans on the bottom left.

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Have you ever DIYed your jeans? Share photos with us using the hashtag #iamcreative.