How do you make cut-off shorts?

To make cut-off shorts, measure your inseam, mark the jeans with chalk, cut off the legs, fray the hems with pinking shears, and launder the shorts. This 1-hour process requires jeans, a mirror, pins, scissors, a ruler, a measuring tape, chalk, pinking shears and laundry machines.

1. Measure and mark the inseam

   Measure a 3-inch inseam on the jeans, and mark it with chalk. Fold the jeans in half, and lay a ruler across the legs. Place one end of the ruler at the inseam marking, and angle the other up slightly. Mark the hemline with chalk. Unfold the jeans, and draw an identical hemline on the other leg.

2. Cut off the legs

   Put on the jeans, inspect the hem markings in a mirror, and make any necessary changes. Take off the jeans, lay them flat, and place straight pins along the hems. Cut off the legs, using the chalk line as a guide.

3. Fray the hems

   Open a pair of pinking shears, and run one of the blades along the hems until the fabric is tattered and slightly unravelled. Use rough, quick strokes.

4. Wash and dry the shorts

   Wash the shorts in cold water, and tumble dry them on the lowest heat setting.