How to Make Faded Jeans

This is an easy do it yourself fashion technique. If you want to lighten up your jeans for summer or fade certain areas for a more distressed look, this article will teach you how to easily make faded jeans. Save your money, take your dark denim winter jeans and give them that popular distressed look for spring, summer and fall.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Denim Jeans
• Bleach
• Washing Machine
• Sponge
• Spray Mist bottle
• metal bristle brush/sand paper

1. 

   If you want to really fade the entire pair of jeans, then simply fill your washing machine with water and add a capful of laundry bleach. Let the wash cycle start before adding jeans to the wash so the bleach and water mix together evenly. Then stop the wash cycle and add your jeans. Let them soak in the wash for a few minutes and then continue the wash cycle. Throw jeans in the dryer after wards.

2. 

   To slightly fade your jeans, place them in the wash and wash them on the hot water cycle. Then put them in the dryer on the hottest setting to dry. Repeat until you have reached the desired amount of fading.

3. 

   Top spot fade your jeans, put them through the wash. Remove damp jeans from the wash and lay on an old towel or outside on the ground. Pour some bleach into a bowl. Take your sponge and dip it in the bleach and wring out a bit so it's not dripping. Use the sponge to rub the bleach into the spots you want to fade. Popular areas to fade your jeans are along the length of the thighs and over the knees, front only or front and back. Let the bleach sit for a while, then hang dry your jeans out in the sun or throw them in the dryer.

4. 

   Another way you can lightly spot fade your jeans is by adding a mixture of water and bleach to a spray mist bottle. Simple mist the areas you want to lighten for a more subtle look.

5. 

   The last way you can fade parts of your jeans is by using a metal bristle brush. This works better on dark denim. Use the metal bristle brush, or try sand paper if as an alternative to rub and fade the desired areas of the jeans. This will fade the denim and make the jeans more distressed looking.

Tips & Warnings

• You can combine any of the methods above, such as doing a light fade on your jeans through step number two, then further add to the distressed look by using methods in steps 3 or 4.
• You might want to experiment on an old pair of jeans you don't care about first.

[CCrock]

on 9/5/2009 It is funny when you think about it. I used to work at a trendy apparel store and I'll never forget when they came out with grease stained jeans...I think they called it the mechanic wash...lol. I was like....okay, why would you pay for new jeans that look like they were used as a rag in the shop?

[GreenGables]

on 9/5/2009 Very interesting. I've always thought it was kind of funny that people would try to make new pants look old, but it's neat to hear how it's done! 5*

[alexagape]

on 8/1/2009 Great instructions. I need to do this to some jeans I got bleach on.

[knelson]

on 7/28/2009 love the metal brush idea!

[godfather25]

on 7/20/2009 Excellent tips on making faded jeans.