How To DIY Your Jeans
Everyone has a favourite pair of jeans, and the right ones will last you a lifetime. But sometimes you just want a change. We've got some simple DIY hacks to refresh your fave denim staples to give them an even longer life in your wardrobe.
How To Make A Raw Hem
Here’s a great trick for when your latest vintage jeans purchase is slightly too long or if you just want to show off your ankles this Summer, fixing your own hem is actually super simple!
Step 1
First off, you’ll need:
- Your jeans
- Fabric scissors
- A tape measure
- Pins
Step 2
Before this, try on your jeans in the mirror and work out exactly how high you’re going to crop them. Measure the ideal length on one leg, making sure to make note of the number for the other side.
Step 3
Using your trusty pins, attach both sides of the trouser together so that’s easier to trim. Be sure to make this a straight of a line as possible!
Step 4
Snip, snip! See ya later excess material. A straight line across should be simple enough. The sharper the scissors, the better. After snipping away the ends of your jeans, you can design your own worn effect using sandpaper. This will give you that very trendy raw hem result.
Frayed Hem Jeans
Instead of cutting horizontally across the pinned line, try snipping vertically upwards to create a fringing effect. Wash on a short cycle on the lowest temperature and they’ll naturally create a super cute fray.
Pocketless Denim
And here’s us thinking women's clothes didn’t have enough pockets. Often the colour underneath will be different from the rest of the jean, giving you a cute little statement zone.
Ripped Denim
A punk and grunge classic. We take no responsibility for any elders making stupid comments like ‘where are half your jeans gone?’ at family events though. It’s called fashion, look it up.
Find out more on making your denim your own with our guide on how to customize your denim!
How to Customise Your Denim
Denim has been a staple in everyone’s wardrobes since the 60s! This classic workwear textile has been there with us throughout the fashion decades, resulting in the existence of a favourite pair of jeans, statement denim jacket or accessories such as hats or scrunchies (or if you’re brave - all of the above).
As seemingly everyone in the world is a lover of this comfortably cool material, the tried and tested best way to stand out from the crowd is through customisation. Here at Beyond Retro we love to show off a little creativity and rework a look, so here are a few helpful tips on how to transform your old denim from drab to fab.
Before playing around with your vintage denim, find out about it's story with our ultimate denim guide.
Customise Denim With Patches
Whether you’re into bands, cartoons or merely feel the need to make a statement; patches are one of the easiest ways to get custom images onto your clothes. They’re simple to apply, you just have to iron them on!
How to Acid Wash
To achieve this ultimate 90s effect, you’ll need to dilute some bleach in a spray bottle, squirting the areas you’d like to lighten. You’ll see the results almost immediately but remember to wash the jeans before you wear them!
How to do Embroidery
Maybe try practising on some scrap material first, or better yet, find somebody else to do it. All you need is a needle and embroidery thread and a cute design in mind and you're set to get to work customising your denim!
Inspired but have nothing to DIY yet? Discover some true vintage denim treasures online at Beyond Retro.
Words Hatti Rex