DIY - No Sew Denim Shorts.

I see blogs and articles about this all of the time. What's the RIGHT way to cut off jeans? What's the PROFESSIONAL way? To this I say pish, what's the EASY way? For me, all of these articles have one thing in common, they are making this way harder than it needs to be! Cutting off jeans is EASY! I've been doing it since I was 12! And here's how...

You need: your jeans that you wish to cut off, scissors, iron-on hemming tape (found in any craft shop or haberdasher), and some way to mark the jeans. I've used tailors chalk, but if you don't have it then you could even use masking tape if you want. You will also need and iron (not pictured).

Step 1: Turn your jeans inside out and mark the length you want to cut them at. You can do this either by putting them on too judge the length; laying a pair of shorts with a length you like over the top and marking at the same length; or, if you're feeling like a renegade, you could just wing it and do it by eye like I did.

Step 2: Fold your jeans in half along the leg, taking the time to make sure they are properly lined up. You can pin them if you like.

Step 3: Cut your jeans a good 5-6cm below your line. You need to cut at a slight angle, so that the length is longer on the inside leg. Cut through both legs together.

Open them out, this is what you should have so far.

Oh dear, they look dreadful, right? Guess what? IT doesn't matter! We're not done yet. Don't get to this stage and lose hope, because the next step makes it all okay again.

Step 4: Fold each leg over twice. Try to fold them so that both legs look the same, and you should end up with a much neater result.

Step 5: Lay out the hemming tape over one side of one leg fold, and cut to fit.

*apologies for the change in colour on the pictures, I did the first 4 steps in the evening, and the ironing the next morning, so the light was completely different.*

Step 6: Tuck your hemming tape underneath the fold.

Step 7: Place a damp cloth over the area and iron. IMPORTANT - do not slide the iron back and forth as you normally would as this will move the fabric and stop the tape from sticking. instead, use a up/down pressing action ONLY.

Now it's just a case of repeating steps 6 and 7. I recommend doing it in 4 stages, one for each leg front, and one for each leg back. You can add extra bits of hemming tape on the edges if necessary.

Done!

That's all it takes to make your very own summer wardrobe staple. It costs nothing and would take you less time than a trip to the shop to buy a pair.

Total cost: £0.00
Total time spent: 20 minutes.