American Flag Studded Shorts DIY

I was seeing American flag print shorts everywhere however they were all way out of my price range. Despite how amazing they are my budget will simply not stretch to $162 for RunwayDreamz American flag print shorts so, inspired by various online tutorials, I decided to embark on my first ever DIY fashion project.

What you need

 - Shorts. I bought a pair of cheap Levi shorts off eBay. I reckon they were previously jeans and had simply been cut but they worked fine.

- American flag print material. I used an American flag bandana which, again, I bought off ebay.

- Studs. I went for a pack of 100 7mm pyramid studs. They have 4 spikes which you simply push through the shorts and the bend them over to keep them in place. They costed about £3 off ebay

- The last thing you need is some fabric glue. I used Aleene's 'OK To Wash-It' glue which I bought off ebay for about £5 as I had seen in recommended in tutorials 

Step One: I started off by studding my shorts. This was really easy as you simply just pushed the studs through the denim. I used the back of a spoon to push down the spikes at the back to protect my fingers from being ripped to shreds. I chose to cover a front pocket in studs and create a studded pattern on one of the back pockets however you can do any design you'd like. Experiment!

Step two: Apply the fabric. This step was more difficult. I chose to clue on the fabric rather than sew it just to make it a bit easier. I used a piece of tracing papers and did a rough outline around the shape of each side of the shorts. I then cut out the same shape out of the American flag bandana except I made it slightly bigger. I then spread the glue all over the shorts and stuck on the fabric. I folded the edges under and glued them down to make a smoother edge.

Step Three: Finishing touches. I used scissors to cut a rip out of my shorts and used sandpaper to fray the edges of the rip however this didn't go as planned and the edges didn't fray easily due to the glue. I frayed the bottom of the shorts using sandpaper to give a slightly more distressed look and then I folded up the bottom. Voila. Your shorts are complete.

Any questions about this DIY project? Any projects you would like me to do in the future? Comment below.