DIY Demim Repair With Stitches & Florals

UPDATE: This post originally ran on February 20th 2013 but we love this DIY for festival season so we’re bringing it back!

It’s that time of year when I start wanting to break back out the denim shorts.  After months of them hiding away in my closet it’s almost time to wear them again and I can’t wait – cutoffs are probably one of my absolute favorite pieces of clothing. Last year I was all about studding cutoff shorts but this year I’m really into destroying denim, and then repairing that denim with visible stitching and floral patches.  I love the way it looks – it retains that cool destructed look but with a little pop of color and a cheerful print peeking through.  Learn how to do it below!

diy denim repair

What you need: A pair of old, ripped* cutoff shorts (I used these). A piece of fabric of your choosing (I wanted to use a cheerful floral print), white thread and sewing needle, and safety pins.

*If you don’t have an old, ripped pair, destroy them yourself! Watch our tutorial on how to destroy denim.

diy denim repair

Place the piece of fabric under the holes in your cutoffs, and use the safety pins to keep it in place.

diy denim repair

Make small stitches in rows as pictured above – I wasn’t too worried about making sure the stitching was even or in a straight line because I like a slightly imperfect look. Use the stitches to cover as large an area as you want! I covered the majority of where the printed floral fabric was.

diy denim repair

diy denim repair

And there you have it! Your cutoffs now have a new look for the spring and summer :).

diy denim repair

I’ll probably live in these and the We The Free Circle In The Sand Tee all summer!

diy denim repair

More DIY Projects from the BLDG 25 Blog!

Photos by Julia.

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11 years ago

this is a fantastic tip!

Lydia
11 years ago

So gorg! I have an old ripped up 90s floral print dress that I could use.

Isabel
11 years ago

Love this idea! I can’t wait to distress some old jeans and make these cutoffs!

11 years ago

loved this ones!

Ryan Agustin
11 years ago
11 years ago

some lovely articles, liked the egg box garden gonna make one with my daughter thx

11 years ago

I just ordered some blue and red Indian cotton paisley fabric scraps to do an alternative on this on jeans, not shorts. Autumn is coming here in Australia so I wanted some rich colours… I will do florals too though :o)

10 years ago
10 years ago

What a great DIY project; very cool.

10 years ago

This is adorable!! I’d wear those all the time in the summer!!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/alexasonken

10 years ago

sew cute!!!! Yay-no machines:)

10 years ago

I have an overly-destroyed pair of Target shorts I plan on doing these to. Very excited to finally be able to wear them.

Meghan
10 years ago

I need to do this in crotch of my jeans!
What a surprise it would be to have a little floral number peaking out. :)

http://happinessiscreating.com/

10 years ago

Good tip, but “DIY Demim Repair” title -> “DIY Denim Repair”?

Olivia
10 years ago

do you guys have any ways to fix crotch holes in jeans with out it looking weird?

10 years ago

adorable!! if you want to know how to make the highwaisted jean shorts i have a video on that :) then u can follow this blog post to have floral denim pathces http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtvwP2eXkM4

Knitascarf
10 years ago

I have plenty of old jeans I don’t use and this would be perfect! Thanks! http://www.learnhowtoknitascarf.com

5 years ago

I love the fact that I’ve never seen something creative like that before. I love your designs.

Thanks for sharing
embroidery patches designs

4 years ago

Thank you for excellent article.You made an article that is interesting.