How to Distress Jeans in 6 Easy Steps

Andrea Cheng

Updated on February 2, 2024 @ 11:00AM

As much as we love new purchases, it's our well-worn, broken-in pieces that tend to hold a soft spot in our hearts as well as our wardrobes. Jeans that have molded to our bodies over time can feel almost as cozy as sweats, but with everyday wear comes the inevitable: tears and roughed-up patches. Do we finally part ways with our beloved denim or try to fix it ourselves?

As it turns out, it's easy to figure out how to distress jeans at home. With a few key tools, you'll be able to transform your old pants into something celebrity-approved. Today's most in-demand distressed denim designs — which come from brands like Miu Miu and Balenciaga — could easily cost you upwards of $1,000. However, a revamped version of something you bought long ago? Well, that's essentially free.

Ahead, we're sharing our step-by-step tutorial on distressing your jeans. Now, when people ask where you got your look, you can tell them, "Oh, these? They're actually custom."

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Gather Your Supplies

Jeans, tweezers, chalk, box cutter, and safety pin — Sarah Balch for InStyle.com

Jeans
Chalk
Tweezers
Box cutter
Safety pin

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Mark with Chalk

Using chalk to make marks on where to cut distressed jeans — Sarah Balch for InStyle.com

Slip on your jeans.
Use chalk to roughly mark the area you want to distress.

For a rather impressive hole in the knee area, it's best to start cutting two inches above the knee and two inches below.

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Insert a Magazine

Placing a rolled up magazine in a jeans leg — Sarah Balch for InStyle.com

Insert a magazine into the leg to prevent the box cutter from slicing through both layers of fabric. Alternatively, you can use cardboard or anything thick enough to act as a buffer.
Firmly place the item under the cutting area.

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Slice with a Box Cutter

A box cutter slicing distressed jeans — Sarah Balch for InStyle.com

Use the box cutter to start slicing at the line you marked.
Continue to slice in horizontal strips. Make each strip about 1/2 inch to an inch apart. The cuts don't need to be equal in length or width.
For a natural-looking rip, start the hole with short slices, gradually create longer ones midway, and end with a short cut (so that it looks like a diamond versus a perfect rectangle).

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Carefully Loosen Threads

Using a safety pin to pull threads at the knee to distress jeans — Sarah Balch for InStyle.com

Flip the first strip of material over and individually tease out each white thread (these are long woven strings that run from side to side) with the sharp point of a safety pin.
Carefully continue to loosen and extract each white thread without breaking them.

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Tweeze Short Vertical Threads

Using a tweezer to distress jeans at the knee — Sarah Balch for InStyle.com

Once you've teased out enough of the long white strands, you'll notice that a frayed fringe will have formed. Use your tweezers to pluck out and remove those short vertical threads.
When you're done, what's left of the strip will be a cluster of white threads running horizontally — the beginnings of your ripped hole.

For variety, try leaving a small strip of denim material untouched and use sandpaper to fray the edges.

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