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!
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.
Place the piece of fabric under the holes in your cutoffs, and use the safety pins to keep it in place.
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.
And there you have it! Your cutoffs now have a new look for the spring and summer :).
I’ll probably live in these and the We The Free Circle In The Sand Tee all summer!
More DIY Projects from the BLDG 25 Blog!
Photos by Julia.
this is a fantastic tip!
So gorg! I have an old ripped up 90s floral print dress that I could use.
Love this idea! I can’t wait to distress some old jeans and make these cutoffs!
loved this ones!
Awesome!!!
http://stylismoetc.blogspot.com/
some lovely articles, liked the egg box garden gonna make one with my daughter thx
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)
great DIY!!
:)
WE❤DIY:
DIYEARTE – DIY
What a great DIY project; very cool.
This is adorable!! I’d wear those all the time in the summer!!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/alexasonken
sew cute!!!! Yay-no machines:)
I have an overly-destroyed pair of Target shorts I plan on doing these to. Very excited to finally be able to wear them.
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/
Good tip, but “DIY Demim Repair” title -> “DIY Denim Repair”?
do you guys have any ways to fix crotch holes in jeans with out it looking weird?
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
I have plenty of old jeans I don’t use and this would be perfect! Thanks! http://www.learnhowtoknitascarf.com
I love the fact that I’ve never seen something creative like that before. I love your designs.
Thanks for sharing
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