If you know me, I can’t cut a straight line so the thought of taking a pair of scissors to a precious article of clothing scared me, until I realized I didn’t want them perfect anyway. I’ve seen videos and tutorials of other people cutting their jeans or t-shirts and I’m always so impressed but again, doubtful of my own skill level.

I recently took a pair of jeans out of my closet and realized I wasn’t wearing them due to the length. Since they were an affordable pair anyway, I felt the risk was hopefully worth the reward. Here’s a step by step overview of how I did it.

Find a sample pair of jeans to use as a guideline. I saw this tip on a Pinterest video and I got lucky in this department. It turns out I had the same pair with a slightly different wash and waist but the perfect pair to use as my sample. My sample pair were high waisted and the pair I was cutting was super high waisted so I needed to account for this when matching up the waist lines to measure where to cut.

Fold the sample jeans in half and lay on the floor. I then proceeded to do the same thing with the pair I was altering, making sure to line up the waistline if the style is similar or make that adjustment as I did.

Once the jeans are aligned, fold the second leg of the bottom pair underneath since it will make them too thick to cut. Make sure the top leg is straight with the original and begin cutting along the same hem. After making the first cut, remove the sample pair and use the new cut to get the second leg even.

Once the cut is where you want it, even if it’s not perfect, it’s fine since you want the raw edge hem look anyway. Throw the jeans into the wash for a cycle to achieve the desired frayed look you want. Try them on with your favorite boots and just like that, you have a new pair of jeans.

Who knows if I will be brave enough to cut anything else but now that I know I can do this with jeans, it will be a big factor in keeping styles that look just a little too long. Happy Cutting Friends!