Mar 31, 20202 min read

The Denim Diaries

Updated: Apr 1, 2020

Helllooo! I hope your social-distancing is going as good as it possibly can. I know the world kind of sucks right now. I wish everyone the best.

In my self-isolation, I have learned how much I love DIY. My mom, the queen of DIY and DIY supplies, has always rubbed off on me a little bit. Now, however, it is more obvious than ever.

In this post, I thought I'd show you how I spruce up my jeans! My family has never had tons of extra money laying around for us to get expensive store bought jeans, so we often resort to thrifting. As great as thrifting is, it's hard to get something that's completely perfect and trendy. Have no fear, for I shall show you the tips are tricks that I have been using for years to have dreamy denim.

Perhaps you can try some of these DIYs while we're all cooped up at home! ;) #stayhome

1) The distressed jean

One of my favorite hacks to modernize a drab jean from the thrift store! Unfortunately, this hack is a little time consuming. But considering we don't have much else to do right now, give it a shot!

--> tutorial

2) The acid-washed jean

Playing with bleach makes me nervous, but it can give a badass look at the end. I tend to use a diluted solution of bleach, and then I rubber band up my jeans as if I were to tie-dye them. Then I soak them in the bleach for a good 30 minutes, rinse them out, wash them then see how I did!

--> tutorial

3) The lightning-pocketed jean

These jeans were created by basically eyeballing a Pinterest post and going for it. This is sort of reminiscent of the painted denim jacket trend, but I thought it would be fun to do it on the pockets! (Photo featuring Ozzy)

--> picture

4) The frayed hem jean

This jean is very "Free People." This one actually took the longest, since I had to basically do the same technique of the distressed jean, but all the way around. I think these jeans would be cutest with a short chunky boot or sneakers.

--> tutorial

5) The flame-pocket embroidery jean

A new love I've found over the quarantine weeks has been embroidery! I was going to paint the fire onto the pockets, but I decided that embroidery would give a longer-lasting and different look. I could not for the life of me find these jeans today when I was trying on, so a lay down pick will have to do!

--> picture

6) The patchwork jean

This one has been one of my favorite to do! I took patches of scrap fabric from my mom's craft supplies and cut them into square-like shapes. I then loosely stitched them onto the fabric, and then embroidered the outsides with white and black thread.