DIY High Waisted Distressed Shorts from Jeans + How to make the waist smaller

In this DIY, I will be showing you how I make my shorts from jeans and also how to make the waist of the jeans/shorts smaller if they are too big or if you have gaping at the back.

Things you will need:

If the jeans fit you fine, you will only need: 

-Jeans (preferably thrifted, you get a better deal!)

-Chalk or a pencil

-Tweezers

-Scissors

-Razor (optional)

If you are altering the waist, you will also need: 
-pins
-a tape measure/ruler
-a needle and thread or sewing machine (a sewing machine would be better, however, it will still work fine by hand)

The first 5 steps can be skipped if you don't need to alter the waist.

Step 1: 

If your jeans are too big like mine are, put them on and measure how much needs to be taken in. 

Step 2:                                                                                  

Take your measurement and divide it by 2, then measure that number either side of the centre of the back of the jeans and mark with the chalk or a pencil- this is done so that you take in the same amount on either side of the jeans so they don't fit uneven. For example, mine needed to be taken in 4" so I measured and marked 2" either side of the jeans- the picture shows this being done on the left side of the jeans.

Step 3:

                             

 Fold the waistband of the jeans so that the two chalk markings are touching on the inside and pin on that point. Then pin diagonally down to the seam to form a dart. DO NOT GO PAST THE SEAM. Turn over and  your jeans should look something like this:  

If so, repeat on the other side.
Once both waist darts are pinned, your jeans should look like this:











Step 4:

Try on the jeans to see if they fit. If they are too big, make the darts slightly bigger. If they are too small, make the darts slightly smaller. Adjust until the jeans fit your waist.
Once the waist fits properly, you are now ready to sew the darts.

Step 5:                                                                                  

Stitch diagonally where the pins are placed to form a dart. You can do this step using a sewing machine or a needle and thread. Do not sew past the seam. 

The stitching should look something like this. I use the red lines as my dart was very messy.

Your jeans should now look like this and fit your waist properly. 

Step 6:

(step 1 for those who already have jeans that fit)

Put on the jeans and mark roughly where you want your shorts to be using the chalk or your pencil. 

Fold the jeans in half aligning the legs properly and cut roughly an inch underneath the line that you made. By cutting underneath the line, you can make sure that you don't cut too much off and then the shorts are too short for your liking- if they are longer, you can carry on cutting small amounts until they are the desired length.

Try the shorts on- if they are too long, cut some more off in small amounts until you reach the length that you want. Your shorts should then look something like this.











Step 7: 

Using the chalk or your pencil, mark where you want to cut your shorts to create the 'distressed' look. Make sure the lines are horizontal or the next steps won't work. 

Cut the lines that you made using the scissors. This step may be easier using a knife- if you use a knife, make sure you don't cut all the way through to the back of the shorts!

After you have cut through the lines, play with the slits a little so that they start to fray.













Step 8:

Once the slits start to fray, you will see that there are white threads going across and blue threads going downwards. Using the tweezers, start to pull out the blue threads leaving the white ones going across. This may take a while, however, once you get into it, the process becomes faster. 

You should now have something that looks like this. Keep going until you get the desired amount of white threads showing. Repeat this step on some of the other slits. 











Step 9:

On some of the other slits, use the razor to create more frays. This is done simply by dragging the razor across the slit.

You should also do this to the bottom of the shorts to create the distressed look. Remember to do the back of the shorts!

 You can also use this razor technique on the back pockets if you would like them to look distressed also. 

Make sure you are careful with the razor!

Step 10:

This step is optional. Your shorts will look something like this at this point. If you like them, you don't have to complete the next step.







The next step is washing and drying the shorts. Doing this will make the frays much bigger and fluffier. Personally, I think this step is one of the most important for achieving the distressed look.

That's it, you're finished!

Tip: 

Use the cutoffs to make denim hair scrunchies!