Things You'll Need:
- Jeans
- Scissors
- Decorative trim
- Scarf or safety pins
- Sewing machine or needle and thread
- Seam ripper
- Fabric paint and brush
- Stencils or foam stamps
- Iron-on patches
- Rhinestones or studs
- Bleach and sponge
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Step 1
Redesign your jeans' cuffs. Sew textured ribbon, lace or beaded trim along the bottoms. Cut a few inches off the bottom, sew a row of decorative trim to the jeans, then sew the portion you removed below that. Also try cutting 4 to 5 inches from each cuff and using a row of vertical scarf pins or long safety pins to reattach them.
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Step 2
Make alterations to change the style of your jeans. Cut and tear the waistband off to make them ultra low-rise or the trim several inches off of each leg to turn them into capris. Use a seam ripper to remove one of the back pockets or simply loosen the seams along one side so the pocket hangs down.
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Step 3
Use fabric paint to layer artistic "graffiti" on the legs or pockets. Also try paint in combination with stencils or foam stamps to add a decorative border around the bottoms or up the sides. Use a fabric paint pen to add a favorite saying to the back pockets.
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Step 4
Add embellishments. Apply iron-on patches, your monogram or decorative trim to the pockets, embroider or sew a design along one leg or add rows of rhinestones or metal studs around the bottoms.
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Step 5
Distress your jeans creatively with bleach. Work in a well-ventilated area and wear rubber gloves. Apply a little bleach to a sponge, then wring it out well. Lightly press the sponge on the areas you'd like to fade, then wash the jeans immediately in cold water so the excess bleach won't eat through the fabric. You can also distress without bleach by rubbing sandpaper or a steel brush along the denim.
