Ripped Jeans—We all love them, don’t we? They are all over the place, and we can’t get enough of them. The idea at first seemed silly and appeared as if it was one of those fashion fads meant only for the runway or celebrities perhaps. They went back and forth in the 90s and suddenly resurfaced a few years ago. It’s here to stay but comes with a price (fat)—a little over the regular pieces of denim. But, it feels ridiculous to be paying that much money for something ‘distressed’ so to speak. Doesn’t it? So, turns out, making your jeans ripped or distressed is not at all that difficult after all. It’s safe to say that at the end of this article you will be able to get yourself a ripped jeans, except without a hole in your pocket. Read further to know how to make ripped jeans right at your home!
What Is Ripped Jeans?
Take your regular jeans and add a few rips, shreds, scrapes, frays and fades to it. You have yourself a ripped/distressed jeans. We cannot point to who started it, but it was part of the grunge fashion movement, but now they have practically taken over. Jeans, shorts, jackets and you name it—they are all ripped!
What Are Distressed Jeans?
Ripped, distressed or torn—one way or the other they all mean the same. Another thing you can do to make them distressed is taking a darker shade jeans and bleach or sandpaper it to fade it out; to make it seem worn out or distressed. Yes, we are a generation who pay for stuff like this. So don’t get into this loop. Take this DIY ripped jeans project.
Fun Fact
The trend of ripped jeans originated in the punk music scene in the 1970s, when fans of the genre began to customize their denim clothing to create a rebellious and anti-establishment look.
How To Make A Ripped Jeans – DIY Step By Step Tutorial
Image: Instagram
Wondering how to make your own ripped jeans at home? Making a ripped jeans is no rocket science. It’s something that you can do with stuff you already have at home. Just needs a teeny bit of planning, patience, and practice.
1. Select A Jeans Or Shorts
Even before you start the process, think of the jeans you could use for this DIY process. Preferably something old, but fits you well (or not). If you are a beginner, then see if you have jeans you already cut into shorts or one that you don’t mind if it goes wrong, just in case.
2. Bring All The Supplies You Will Need
Depending on whatever you plan to do with your jeans, you will need to get your supplies in place just so that you do not run to the convenient store mid-way and get distracted. Here’s what you will need.
- For holes, shreds (one or all of them)—Fabric scissors or utility cutter knife.
- For removing threads—tweezers.
- For scrape and frays—razor or scissors.
- For a distressed look—pumice stone or sandpaper.
- For marking—marker, tailor’s chalk or just a pen.
3. Start Marking To Rip/Distress Them
Image: Youtube
The most important step in the process, a place where most of us (beginners) screw up. Decide what you want to do with your jeans and then mark it clearly. It is just an efficient way of doing it. If you are not sure how much is acceptable and where to do what, scroll through to find out. We are about to discuss that.
4. Start Ripping (Distressing)
Image: Youtube
At this point, you already know what you want to do, and the markup is done. Just start ripping it off or distressing it.
5. Finishing Touches
You’re practically done, just ensure it’s not sloppy, and the finished product looks neatly done.
5 Ways To Make Ripped/Distress Jeans
1. Remove The Threads
Image: Instagram
Your jeans basically have white threads horizontally and blue threads vertically. I was clueless about this up until the point I did this exercise. So, to get this distressed striped look all you have to do is start tweezing out the vertical blue threads off the patch, you marked earlier. As a first timer, removing the first few threads will be the hardest, but it will loosen up as you progress and it gets much easier.
Click here to watch the video tutorial.
2. Fray The Edges
Fraying the edges is another fun way to distress your jeans. If you are not very experimental, this is a good place to start. It is fashionable, yet not over the top. Cut the end of the jeans or your shorts slightly and start removing threads with a tweezer. You could also scrape the edges off with a razor or sandpaper.
Click here to watch the video tutorial.
3. Fray The Pockets
Frayed pockets are subtle and an interesting way to distress your jeans. It adds extra spunk and makes it cool. Just take off the top layer of the pocket, without going too deep. Then, either scrape the surface with a razor or sandpaper or just remove some threads with tweezers.
Click here to watch the video tutorial.
Trivia
The world record for the most expensive pair of ripped jeans was set in 2017, when a pair of Gucci jeans with intentional rips and tears sold for $1,200.
4. Make Holes
Making holes to distress your jeans is also a style that is in vogue right now. As a beginner, try smaller holes or if you want to try bigger ones try them closer to the pocket so that you are still covered with the pocket cloth if the hole gets big or awkward. If you are confident, by all means, do it. Cut off the portion with scissors and then fray the edges, or you could just remove threads with a tweezer.
Click here to watch the video tutorial.
5. Scrape Or Bleach Off
Add subtle touches to distress your jeans with a combination of other methods or just as a stand alone. Either way is totally fine. You could add bleach for a faded look or take a pumice stone or sandpaper or even a steel wool and scrape off the parts of the jeans on which you want the faded look.
Click here to watch the video tutorial.
Where And How To Manage A Ripped Jeans
- Now that you’ve learnt how to scrape, shred and drill holes into your jeans, let’s go over a few things you should know. It is also important to understand how to strike a balance without actually ripping the jeans apart, or making it look like rags. Also, know the best placement for each of these.
- Unless you prefer to go all out, overdoing the distressed look can leave a bad aftertaste. So, according to the fashion police, two and a half rule (give or take), looks and works best. So, two holes, two shreds, and a scrape is a good starting point. Feel free to tweak it, but this is a good reference for amateurs.
- Shreds look best in the thigh region, and a couple of inches long is good.
- Holes usually start on the knee and go up two inches (for obvious reasons). Don’t go overboard with the holes and keep the length to an inch and only as wide as your leg, because they end up showing more skin when you sit. Plus, horizontal ones are better.
- Scrapes near or above the thigh are great.
Precision is a must when it comes to making ripped jeans at home. But, with the right tools and prior planning, you will soon be able to flaunt a pair of DIY ripped jeans. So, make sure to follow this ultimate guide on making ripped jeans and getting started. You should avoid running your scissors on the fabric without taking measurements or marking the areas you want to cut or work on because once you cut off a large chunk of it, there is no coming back.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it OK to wear ripped jeans to school?
No, ripped jeans are not allowed in many schools. They are not suitable for school attire and may be considered inappropriate in many institutions.How do you rip jeans without tweezers?
You can use a razor or scissors to scrape the jeans. Pumice or sandpaper can also be used to create a distressed look. It can also be done manually by marking and ripping the jeans carefully.What’s the easiest way to make ripped jeans?
One of the easiest ways to make ripped jeans is to use a pair of scissors or a razor blade to create small cuts or holes in the denim fabric. You can also use sandpaper or a pumice stone to create a distressed look on the fabric. To make the holes look more natural, you can wash the jeans several times after creating the cuts or holes.What are purposely ripped jeans called?
Purposely ripped jeans are often called distressed jeans or ripped jeans. Some specific styles of distressed jeans include destroyed jeans, which have larger holes and more pronounced distressing, and raw hem jeans, which have a frayed or unfinished hem at the bottom of the leg.
Key Takeaways
- Use scissors or a razor blade to create small cuts or holes in the denim fabric
- Use sandpaper or a pumice stone to create a distressed look on the fabric
- Wash the jeans several times after creating the cuts or holes to make them look more natural
- Use bleach or fabric paint to create a unique design on the fabric
- Create a shredded or torn look by pulling threads from the denim fabric with tweezers or a needle
