Check Out My Buffalo Plaid Hacks to Make Your Old Clothes Cute Again

Holly Grace
by Holly Grace
9 Materials
$20
2 Hours
Easy

I recently bought a pair of jeans from my local thrift store. I wanted to add a little bit more of me to the jeans and that’s where this DIY project started. I bought some buffalo plaid fabric and used it to truly customize the pair of jeans. I had a little extra fabric that I used to totally transform an old sweater. I love how this DIY gave me two super unique clothing items.

Tools and materials:

  • Marker
  • Scissors
  • Speed-sew
  • Embroidery thread
  • Needle
  • Buffalo plaid fabric
  • Sandpaper
  • Fork
  • Paper
Buffalo check

Mark the jeans 

To start off, I put on the pair of jeans and marked the points where I was going to make holes in the pants. I made three markings on the jeans but go ahead and make as many markings as you like. 

Mark the jeans



I then moved on to the bottom of the jeans and marked above the hem where I would be cutting later on to get the frayed hem I wanted for these jeans. 

Cut the bottoms

Fray the hemline 

Next, using a pair of fabric scissors, I cut across the marking above my hem on both legs.

Fray the hemline


I held open my scissors and used the blade to help me fray the fabric at the bottom of each leg to create the gorgeous frayed style. There is no real technique here. You can be as gentle or as rough as you want. 

Use the scissors


I also cut tiny, diagonal slits in the hem of the jeans. I then rubbed the hemline together using my fingers which just helped to further fray the fabric. 

Use a fork


Another awesome way to fray jeans is to use a fork. Here, I folded the bottom of the jeans over and used a fork to pull out the threads. 

Use sandpaper


I also used a bit of sandpaper and rubbed it over the bottom of each leg because I really wanted a nice, frayed look from the hem. There are clearly a ton of ways to create the frayed hemline so pick whichever works best for you. 

Cut the holes

Cut the holes 

To cut the holes in my jeans, I use my fabric scissors to cut along the markings I made earlier. I was careful that I only cut through the top layer of the leg and not all the way through both layers of fabric. 

Fray the holes


Next, I took a small pair of scissors and slid it across the holes just like I did for the hemline. I also used some sandpaper to really create a nice frayed look for the holes in the jeans.

Buffalo plaid patch

Add the buffalo plaid

In this step, I cut out squares of the buffalo plaid fabric. I made sure that the squares were at least a half-inch bigger than the holes. 

Use speed-sew


I turned the jeans inside out and applied some speed-sew around the edges of my holes. 

Stick on the plaid


Making sure the buffalo plaid fabric was facing out, I stuck the squares over the holes. Once all the holes had been filled in with the fabric, I left the speed-sew to set for 12 hours. 

DIY buffalo plaid patch


I adore the buffalo plaid peaking through the frayed holes. This is such a great and easy way to add a little customized fall or winter touch to your jeans. 

Cut out the template

Draw and cut out a heart template 

I had a little extra buffalo plaid fabric leftover so I decided to do another fun fashion DIY. To start off, I folded a piece of paper in half and then drew and cut out a heart-shaped template. 

Measure on your arm


I then sized the heart template up against my elbow making sure it was the right proportion for my arm. 

Mark on the sweater

Mark the sweater 

I put on my sweater and marked where I wanted the top and bottom of the heart to be placed. 

Cut out the hearts

Cut the buffalo plaid fabric 

Next, I traced the heart shape onto my fabric and cut out two at the same time. I was careful to make sure that I would have at least two full red squares of the buffalo plaid in each heart. 

Buffalo check patch

Sew on the hearts 

I then went ahead and used embroidery thread to sew on the hearts where I had marked on my sweater. I used some rough, rustic stitching to sew on the plaid. I love the rustic, rugged look so I tried not to put too much care into my stitching. If you prefer, you can always use speed-sew to attach the elbow patches. 

DIY buffalo check patch


The buffalo plaid elbow patches add a gorgeous, rustic touch to my sweater! I love how a few small changes can totally customize any item of clothing. Let me know which piece you liked best in the comments! 

Suggested materials:
  • Marker
  • Scissors
  • Speed-sew
See all materials

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