So I'm working on this pair of jeans....

[Illiteraphobe]

I have a pair of old jeans that I'm attempting to turn into something special with embroidery, applique' and such.
My dilemma is, I want these jeans to look as if they have been through a war zone. I buried them in the snow for a while, and they are now running through the dryer, but it's not near the effect I want. If I didn't have to share my washer and dryer I would throw some gravel in there, but as it is....
So, any tips on how to mutillate denim, or ideas for the pants themself? Thanks.

[Kuhkri]

Illiteraphobe

I have a pair of old jeans that I'm attempting to turn into something special with embroidery, applique' and such.
My dilemma is, I want these jeans to look as if they have been through a war zone. I buried them in the snow for a while, and they are now running through the dryer, but it's not near the effect I want. If I didn't have to share my washer and dryer I would throw some gravel in there, but as it is....
So, any tips on how to mutillate denim, or ideas for the pants themself? Thanks.

do you have a dremmil tool?
use that with some sander bits and itwould be decent

or a hand sander?
those would work wonders.


a cheaper way to get holes is a razor..
just swipe.

drag them behind your car lol

[Illiteraphobe]

Oo, thanks. Great ideas!

[Lychee Fruit]

You can also put too much bleach in the washing machine or apply it with a brush or squirt bottle. Just be very careful if you're messing with strong chemicals!

[margarita salt]

Oh i love break down its so much fun wink

Cheese graters and sand papper works wonders for holes and worn away serfaces.

Also sprizer bottles filled with watered down fabric paint. You can mix up some dirty mud looking colours than can make things look really old and worn. Or if you wanna go the other way some really bright funky colours and make the jeans look splattered.

Dyeing can be good get some rough dirty looking colour and scrunch them up and squish them in to the pot. That can give a really patchy cool effect especially if they don't all fit in and get dyed.

Hmmm what else can I think of. Oh have you ever worked with vanishing muslin or Aqua film? Never done it myself but always wanted to cut patches our of my jeans and fill the space with a web of threads like you can get with vanishing muslin.

Heat guns also give a good effect if you can get ahold of one. You have to be really careful with them though and remember to wear a mask the fumes can be wicked.

Last of all (all I can remember for a moment i'm sure i'll be back ) You always have the throwing them on the floor and walking on them. The driving over them, the smacking them against a brick wall. Hehehe anything you can think of.

[Illiteraphobe]

Wow, more awesome ideas! I hadn't tried a cheese grater yet....Maybe I'll have my dad drive over them in the school bus mrgreen

[dagrossman]

you can fray the bottem of the pants by cuting a slit in each leg at the bottem with a knife and then use scisors to cut it open the rest of the way and they fray the edges by taking the edge of the knife or scisors and rub it against the cut fabric.

my other sugestion is just slash away where you feel it is needed and then fray and stich it back up thats what im doing on one of my pairs of pants.

[spacekitten]

An actor at my school disstressed the jacket for his costume by jamming the sleeve in his car door, with the rest hanging out, and drove around in circles. Seemed to work pretty well, except he ripped the back in half and had to stitch it back up.

You could try that, if you have access to a car.

Oh, and if you cut a slit/hole and wash it many, many times, the cut will fray.

[Tartan_skirt]

If you're the active type you could always wear them and go on an assault course... xd

How about some barbed wire? Or rolling them up into a very tight ball and playing football with them? sweatdrop

[rayzshea]

If you live in a place where the roads get salt spread onto them in the winter, or if you can get your hands on some road salt you can get some good effects.

Soak your jeans in a puddle of slushy road snow, sprinkle with salt, place into a gravel parking lot drive over them a few times. The chemicals in the salt will eat at your fabric and can also react with the dye causing discoloration. Sanding with a belt sander is good as are bleach splatters or household paint.

[HeirosTao]

Pumice Stone and a stich unpicker will be your best friend smile

[PookieNoodle]

sweatdrop I would always just wear them a few years! My biggest problem was I would always end up with holes at the top of the thigh forst from sitting on the pavement all the time in high school!

I had one pair I patched when that happened and embroidered them. I ended up painting on them too (and at one point, a pot of melted red wax was spilled on one leg, so I couldnt put them through the wash any more!) whee I can't remember what happened to them, I havent got them any more, but in the end there wasnt much denim left in them.

[Illiteraphobe]

The jeans are turning out great! I dabbed oil paint on them, and am now waiting for it to dry before I do anything else...when they are finished I'll try to get some pictures up.

[jack_kant]

India ink is good for doing oil spots and such, as well as other kinds of ink. You can do splatters, and even stamping and such and, believe me, it will never come out *has had some... adventures* xd

[margarita salt]

Can't wait to see the pictures of your jeans I'm sure they're going to look really funky!