apricot’s closet: attacked by a cheese-grater & a knife.

grey tunic, from Cali; ripped shorts, from Target; mini-fishnets, from 99 cent Store; boots, from Payless; charm bracelet, from Forever21; short necklace, from Ruche; long necklace is handmade (click here to buy it!).

If you follow me on twitter, you might recall this:

“Currently f—ing up/distressing my boyfriend jeans, using a cheese grader, & a serrated knife. & they’re turning out swimmingly! :] ” — 2:46PM, Jan. 21st from web

Well, here they are before: (this picture was taken ages ago)

&… I suppose it’s obvious how they ended up afterward; poor little things…

I originally wanted them to be heavily distressed jeans. I was feeling very bored & lonely in my apartment (& a little bitter about something) so I thought a nice craft project would keep me entertained. Thus began my aggression against these innocent jeans. One thing led to another & they ended up being long, grunge-esque shorts, slashed & ripped open, completely obliterated; exactly the look I was going for.

The method to this madness involved a serrated knife & a cheese grater.

I regret not documenting the violence against my jeans. It would have made for a smashing tutorial! But, if you’re at all interested in attacking your own pair, here is my mini-tutorial:

do it yourself!

Start the violating with the cheese grater; go against the grain of the jeans — I sawed at mine horizontally — & keep at it. This will weaken the threading, which will make it easier to slice into with the knife.

After you feel you’ve done enough grating, take a serrated knife, stab the jeans, & slice slits into the areas you desire. Rip the slits open with your fingers in the direction you want them to go. You could use scissors, but I felt I had more control with the knife.

I also made heavy “shaving” type strokes against the grain of the jeans with the knife, which made some interesting fraying detail.

I suggest trying on the pants a few times before you get really into it, so that you’ll get an idea of where you want more (or less) distressing. Even after you feel finished with your attacking, try them on & survey the damages… You might want to put in more detail later.

(My, that sounded like a brutal killing of some sort!)

When I was finished, I folded up the legs & sewed the sides a little to keep them from falling down. Of course you could always just leave them be, so that they’ll fray naturally after being washed. It’s totally up to you; whichever you prefer.

Shorts like mine can easily sale for hundreds of dollars, depending on the designer behind them. (Disgusting, isn’t it?) But before you shell out your money, try it yourself! If nothing succeeds from the venture, at least you were able to let off some steam. As you can imagine, it’s quite therapeutic.

& if you do, by chance, happen to DIY, I definitely want to see the end result!

____________________

Q: what is your favorite DIY technique?