Monday, April 27 2009 @ 05:33 PM ICT

Contributed by: news

Distressed denim is all the rage, has been for some time, and doesn’t seem to be going out of style anytime soon. Why would it? You can dress it up or down, and there are so many different styles, which makes it extremely versatile. The only downside is that it is rather more expensive than your regular jeans. This is most likely because each pair of denim takes much longer to craft since “ruining” or distressing denim can get tricky. If you aren’t paying attention, it is easy to ruin a perfect pair of denim.

I have seen everything from pain splatter, fringed seams, rips, bleach spots, brown tinted spots, frays and so on. Really the possibilities are endless. Unless I see a pair of jeans that are AMAZING, I have decided to hand create my own distressed denim. This is a great idea, but you do need patience. This way you can save around $50 or so depending on the brand.

I would first try out different techniques on an old pair so that I could get an idea of what I like and can simply throw the test pair away afterward. I have found out that it is best to destroy denim that is thinner and softer because takes to your distressing easier. Thicker denim can take a lot more time and energy because it is difficult to work with.

• One great tool is sandpaper. It is both cheap and has different degrees of roughness, which can create many different styles.
• Everyone knows to use a cheese grater on their jeans, it is the most commonly used method for wearing denim. Try using the finer side; it creates a better effect. Smaller grater, like nutmeg or cinnamon graters work well also.
• I would like to say use bleach but I think it is better to steer clear of that method. It can get very messy and you can easily ruin a pair of jeans. A safer route is to go with dishwasher liquid. Just squirt it on and let it sit for 1-2 hours and then stick it in the wash with hot water with extra liquid fabric softer on the “stain” or “heavy” cycle of your washer.
• Another odd but creative way to distress your denim is brewing very strong coffee and letting your pants soak in a bucket of it overnight or longer to achieve that weathered look. Then simply wash then in cold water and tumble dry.
• Another trick to getting that ripped and frayed look is to cut two slits around 2-4 inches apart with a knife and sandpaper the middle section of denim until you see white cords and tiny holes in the denim. Just make sure to carefully separate the cords with your fingers because you don’t want them to break.

Distressing your denim can be both fun and successful, just keep in mind to wear clothes you don’t mind getting dirty or possibly ruining and that you use a safe surface area. We want to damage your jeans here, not your house.