Sunday, July 17, 2011

DIY Shorts.

While this has been done a thousand times, this tutorial shows how to turn any kind of pants into nice, neat shorts (as opposed to the ripped hems and what not). Most tutorials I've come across for this kind of thing are simply like "Take out pants, cut." This is slightly more detailed, but still very, very easy. Also, this can be adjusted to any height (ie. jeans to 3/4 pants). To see some inspirations in regards to how you can decorate your shorts, click here.

1. Get everything laid out in front of you so you can see:

I started with an old pair of 3/4 jeans that I haven't worn in years yet amazingly still fit me. I then flipped them inside out and laid a pair of shorts that fit me really well over the top so I could see the kind of length I was going for. When you do this make sure everything is smoothed out / matched up as nicely as possible. If you don't have any shorts to match it up, don't worry, it's not that important, just gives you a bit of perspective on what your end product will look like.

2. Measure out your lines:

If you're not worried about having a nice neat edge then this step isn't as important for you. Personally I wanted rolled up edges (as seen in the brought shorts / original 3/4 jeans) so I added an extra three centimetres to my shorts so I could roll them up.

At this point my cat kept sitting on all my stuff, then moving as soon as I went to take a photograph. I also folded mine over so that I could double check they'd be the same length etc.

3. Cut & enjoy:

The top pair are mine with the ends rolled up. All you have to do is add a few hand stitches to hold them in place, or alternatively you can use some double sided adhesive sewing tape (bias tape ?) which you iron on to hold them in place and add a few stitches on the side. I opted for the second choice because one thing that I get annoyed with the original shorts is that sometimes the rolled edges unfold a tad / hang funny and this ensures they always look perfect.

Now I just have to wait for Summer to come round so I can actually wear them!

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