DIY Frayed Hem Denim

Before:

After:

It seems like every pair of denim shorts I own from American Eagle have a rolled hem. I like the look for a few pair of shorts, but not every single pair I own! So, I decided to change the hem on this pair of shorts to change up my summer wardrobe a bit. I think this frayed hem look goes together better with already distressed denim, but also looks really neat on a clean pair of shorts with no distressing. I chose these just because I didn't think the neatly rolled bottoms looked right with so much distressing on the rest of the shorts!

Here’s how to do it on your own shorts, or even on a pair of skinny jeans! This hem looks super cute on any length of denim.

1) I cut off the hem from these shorts about 1/2 of an inch longer than I wanted the fraying to start. You can always trim up the hem after you’re done, but you can’t add any! Remember that after washing and drying, the frayed hem with tighten up and your hem will be as short as where you start the fray.

2) Decide where you want the fraying to start (where you want the hem of your denim to be). In these pair, I wanted the fray to start where the fold was in the before photo. Cut vertically in 1/4 inch blocks up to where your fray will start on the hem:

3) Use tweezers and pull out the horizontal threads block by block. This took me about an hour so I just had Netflix playing the background while I worked!

4) Keep working all the way around and you have your finished product! Super simple! Now, throw them in the washer and dryer and you have your finished pair of frayed hem denim! If you wish, you can always trim the hem to keep it looking neat or if it’s too long for you. Mine turned out exactly how I wanted them without any trimming after the dryer!

Before washing:

After washing and drying:

I researched a few other posts about how to do this and this was by far the easiest way to do it! It’s time consuming, but so worth it in the end! I think I’m going to do this to another pair of shorts I own that have the rolled hem as well- I love this look on denim! Please let me know if you have any questions and let me know what you think!

xoxo, jess