DIY Jeans: Leather Lace Up Denim

DIY Leather Lace Up Denim Jeans Tutorial

This DIY jeans tutorial will give you step by step instructions on how you can create your own rocker style jeans. This idea of leather lace up denim jeans was one I had been turning over in my head for quite some time. In theory, it would work but how they turned out was even better than my expectations.

You will need

• a pair of old jeans
• leather lacing (I used about 10 yds total)
• scissors
• seam ripper
• needle and thread
• grommets (I used 1/4 inch) and grommet kit ( I used a total of 104 grommets)
• leather punch, x-acto blade
• pen, rubber mallet
• a piece of wood to bang the grommet into the denim.

1. Begin by seam ripping the outside leg seam all the way up to the waistband.

Once the seam is ripped, if you are lucky, the inside of the seam will already be finished off like the picture below. If the seam is not already finished or surged, you will need to sew down the edge with an ⅛ inch hem or serge it.

2. Determine how far apart you want the grommets to be.

I did 1 1/2 inches. Make markings on a piece of cardboard for the distance and for how far in to go on the inseam. This step will save you a ton of time and make the distance between each grommet exact. Mark the spot with a pen.

3. Punch a hole into the fabric with the leather punch.

You will need to use the largest punch on the wheel. I tried initially to cut each mark with an x-acto knife and it took forever. Definitely invest in a leather punch. Bonus, after you own your own leather punch you can make all the adjustments in your belts and shoe straps yourself instead of taking them to a cobbler.

4. From the right side, push the taller of the grommet pieces through the fabric.

This will take a bit of patience. Then lay the grommet you just pushed through onto the black circle of the grommet tool. Next, lay the shorter part of the grommet onto the wrong side and place the silver post on top.

5. Give it some good whacks with your mallet.

Once you have done both sides of the leg, you are ready to lace up your jeans. I did not want space between my laces, so I used a slightly large pair of jeans. If your jeans fit you, then you will be showing some skin between the lacing.

6. Tack down openings

I tacked down a couple of spots where I did not like how the denim was gaping. It worked great. I had initially used this pair of jeans for a DIY patchwork tutorial in a previous post. Confession: I used this specific pair of jeans because they were too big and I knew if I screwed it up, I would not care. I discovered, when I had finished with the patchwork tutorial, I was so in love with the way they turned out and was compelled to make them fit better. I began to think about all the ways I could make adjustments to the jeans and so the idea to lace them up down the sides came to be. By doing this, I managed to take the legs in just enough to make them fit in the way I wanted. The waist is still too big, but I like the rock star slouchy vibe they give off.