I really like this trend of fringed hem jeans, don’t you? Instead of buying an expensive pair, I thought it would be fun to repurpose a pair of jeans I already owned—it’s really so easy!

Supplies

1 pair of jeans, mostly cotton*

Scissors

Cloth measuring tape or a ruler

Chalk

 

*Choose jeans that don’t have more than 2% spandex. My first try was with stretch jeans (they don’t fray well) that became a cute pair of shorts. The cut of the jeans is important; you can use skinny jeans but a wider leg gives a better look.

 

Instructions

  1. Cut off the existing hem. If your jeans are already frayed, you’re ready to go. Decide how long you want your fringe to be—2 inches, 4 inches, 6 inches.
  2. With measuring tape or a ruler, measure up from the bottom of the jeans and mark with chalk. I suggest you measure two or three places on the front and draw a line connecting your chalk marks. Do this on both legs.
  3. With scissors, cut strips, approximately 1/4 inch wide, from the bottom up to the chalk line. You can cut through the front and back side of the jean leg at one time. (Make sure to cut close to the side seams; this cut may end up being slightly wider than 1/4 inch, that’s ok.)
  4. Wash and dry the jeans. Even if you don’t normally dry your jeans, you will need to in order to make the fringe. After that, you can go back to hang drying the jeans.
  5. Take a hair brush (I know it sounds funny, but it works) and brush the bottom of the jeans to create fringe. The 1/4 strips might curl a bit, which I thought was cool looking. Don’t brush too hard, you don’t want to pull the fringe off.
  6. As you wash and dry your jeans more times, brush the fringe until it looks the way you like.