Before:
After:
Find an old pair of pants that you don't wear anymore or find a new pair at a thrift store. I found these old Levi's at a thrift store. Levi's are my favorite to work with, especially if you are interested in high waisted shorts. Old Levi's tend to run quite small so don't be afraid to try on a larger size. For example, I'm normally a size 0 (or 24) and these shorts are a size 4. They are only a little lose, but they still work. Before you begin cutting, I recommend you try them on and draw a line where you want to cut while wearing them. I also recommend drawing the line a little bit lower than you actually want your shorts to be. You can always trim shorter, but once you cut them you can't make them longer if you mess up and make them too short. I'm a bit of a perfectionist so when I take them off, I take a ruler and make sure the line is straight and even. I also would like to point out that the back of your shorts should be longer than the front so your butt does not hang out. Once you have your lines all drawn out, cut away. Fabric scissors tend to work better, but normal scissors will do if you do not own a pair. Your shorts will look something like this after cutting them:
After you try them on and figure out if the shorts are at a good length, you can begin the process of fraying your shorts. To do that, slide the blade on your scissors back and forth along where you trimmed the pants. Do this for a while until it is frayed all around. It won't look perfect until after you wash and dry them. That is when they really fray. If you want to create holes in your shorts, or make them look worn out, you can use either sand paper or a cheese grater to do so. Just rub the shorts in the areas you wish to do so with either the sand paper or cheese grater. I didn't do that with this pair. Instead I put studs on them, which can be hard to find sometimes. I got mine from the Hobby Lobby, which is a craft store. If you are unable to find some at your local craft store, you can always find them online. Etsy.com is good for things like that. I recommend buying some that have prongs in the back like this:
That way you can just poke them into your shorts. Otherwise make sure you find a durable fabric glue if you use studs that don't have prongs.
