Introduction: Make Your Own DREAM Denim!
Ever seen that pair of denim that just blows you away and is a MUST HAVE? The only thing is... you check the price tag and that price is around 100% out of your budget? Well, you and I both have experienced this feeling of pure sadness, but have I got the solution for you: MAKE IT! This is also a great way to clean out your closet & upcycle!
Step 1: Gather Your Inspiration!
Before you begin your denim journey, you're gonna need to grab some inspiration!
This could be from Pinterest, Instagram, a website, but most of the time you'll have that perfect pair in mind.
I am going to be attempting to recreate these jeans that have a two-tone effect w/ cropped bottoms, at a pretty steep price point.
Once you have that picture or your Pinterest board, lets move onto grabbing those materials!
Step 2: Gather Your Materials!
Once you have your vision, now to grab your materials:
1st: Find your denim!
- You could use a pair of denim you already have and reinvent it, so you also don't have to spend any $$$ at all, and you would be cleaning out your closet while you're doing it.
- What I suggest to all: THRIFT!
- Head down to your local thrift store and find some SUPER cheap denim to be able to then D.I.Y!
- I did this with mine and spent less than 10$ in total on both pairs! You could totally get it for cheaper though!
After you grab your denim, let's move onto the other items and materials you will need:
- Your Denim!
- Scissors (Fabric Scissors Preferably.)
- Optional: Sewing Machine & Thread
For myself to create the denim I previously showed I needed:
- Sewing Machine
- Chain Belt (you could totally D.I.Y this also if you didn't want to spend $$$ on an already assembled one) I got mine at Brandy Melville for 6$.
Tips For other Denim DIYS:
- If you wanted to do the painted star denim showed previously, you could totally make your own stencil by printing out a star offline and then cut it out, then to proceed to paint them with acrylic paint or even some sharpies!
- Or, Ask me questions on other alternatives to DIY-ing your denim! :-)
Step 3: Cut Your Denim!
So for the pair of jeans, I am creating, it involves cutting the denim to get this disconnected "two-tone" look!
I suggest trying on your denim and see where you want this disconnected area to be, to be able to get it the most accurate possible, as you don't want to mess it up, as your thrifted jeans are one a kind!
Next, mark the areas you want to cut with either an erasable utensil or even something like a white colored pencil. Make sure to mark both areas you want to cut out, as that will tell you the length you'll need to disconnect.
Then cut one of the pairs of denim to the desired length, and then place it over the other and cut it out! You should be able to insert one of the cut out sections into the other cut part of the other denim.
Pin it all together and then move onto Sewing!
Step 4: Assemble! (Sew)
Now that you have your denim cut into the correct proportions, and hopefully, your supplies: let's assemble!
- If you're using a Sewing machine, run it through the machine INSIDE-OUT, taking pins off as you go down the line. I used the settings shown in the picture above to sew mine.
- After you sew one side, it should look like the picture above, and then if it looks like, do the rest!
- You may need to Hand-Stitch the corners, as you don't want the sewing machine to get caught up.
Step 5: Almost Done!
After its all sewn up, it should look good & feel sturdy.
Do the other side if you please, I decided to because I wanted to emulate the same kind of denim I got inspiration from!
Step 6: Extras & You're Done!
Yay, you're like pretty much done!
I decided to add a chain belt from Brandy Melville & give it the same vibe as one of my inspiration pictures.
I also decided to crop them & fray the bottom, giving it a more modern feel (I did this with scissors!)
Lastly, Iron the areas where you sewed, to give it that more clean look!
And... you're done!!! Yay! Go Enjoy your one of a kind denim & work it!