Get an old pair of jeans, preferably those with a skinny fit as the shredding will loosen them up. Jeans that are slightly distressed already will be easier to get going.
To pre-distress, place something flat and solid like a plank of wood or your kitchen chopping board inside the pant leg and run the cheese grater up and down with the grain of the denim. This will suss-out where your tears should go.
Next take your exacto knife and run it firmly in horizontal lines in places where the cheese grater picked loose threads. For better results do a series of short lines in slightly zig-zagged formation, not one long, horizontal line.
After the desired amounts of cuts have been made down the leg, you can get started on the artistic (tedious) part. With tweezers and your fingers, gently weed out the vertical denim threads exposing the cotton horizontal threads.
Once this is finished, all you gotta do is throw your new fave pair in the dryer on high heat. This make the loose denim threads curl up creating the perfect tear. If ALL this fails, put them in the back yard with your dog and grab ‘em a week later.
Voila! Instant fashion AC for the summer!
