Easiest Way to Turn Ripped Toddler Jeans into Shorts

You do not need any special skills to turn jeans into shorts. This little DIY project is so simple I almost feel dumb writing a whole post about it. I simply cut the material as far down as I possibly could due to the hole, and folded the pants in half so I could copy that cut on the other leg. I then chose to roll the edges into a cuff, which stayed perfectly for me without any ironing due to the heaviness of the material.

Step 1:

Cut the jeans at an appropriate length for shorts. (Or cut as low as you can with where the hole in the knee happens to be.)

Step 2:

Fold the jeans in half and use the already cut edge as a guide for cutting the second leg. Be sure the outsides of the pant legs are perfectly aligned and that the waistband is straight. This is a foolproof way to ensure both sides are even with no measuring required.

Step 3:

Cuff the shorts.

OR… you may also prefer to leave them raw as pictured below. You could even fray the edges a little more for a more distressed look.

Done! It doesn’t get any easier than that to salvage a pair of jeans.

I have thrown away many a pair of jeans because of the holes put in the knees by my destructive eldest son. While not the crime of the century, I realize now that I should have repurposed them into shorts. Inevitably, I found myself with another ruined pair of jeans. This time, I was able to save them and turn them into shorts for my youngest boy.

Any suggestions for how to repurpose the pant leg scraps? Let me know below!