DIY Lace Trim Shorts

I am so thrilled that summer is finally approaching.  I cannot wait to clear my closet of too-tight jeans and make way for shorts and maxi skirts.  Although I am sad that layering season is out, I am beyond excited for summer clothing.  Flirty dresses and cut-off shorts are way more comfy than skinny jeans and itchy sweaters.  Not to mention, the fun, flirty color combos you can get away with throughout the summer are way more exhilarating and refreshing than the neutral pallet trends of winter.

My biggest summer go-to for the past three or four summers have been denim cut-off shorts.  They are simple, stylish, and match with almost anything and everything.  I decided I have far too many plain pairs than one girl needs in a life time, so I decided to "vamp" a pair up a bit.  I am loving the lace trend right now, so I wanted to make a quick and easy DIY lace-trim shorts tutorial.  I have seen several versions of this on Pinterest, and I thought I would give it a try for myself.

You know those perfect cut-offs you bought in high school that are too short to wear now, but you just can't seem to get rid of?  Yeah, those will be perfect.  I loved my shorts back then and wore them almost every day.  They are way to short for me to get away with now (and probably where back then as well), so adding the lace to the bottom helps add a little extra length.

I have recently been doing simple sewing projects, so this was the perfect excuse to whip out my sewing machine.  You can also use fabric glue if you don't know how to sew.  Other materials you will need:

Fabric Scissors
Lace Trim
A Pair of shorts
Pins
Sewing measuring tape

Here is the "before" picture of my shorts:

First, measure out the length of the pant-leg of your shorts (mine was 24 inches each side).

Then, measure out your lace trim to the same length and cut at that length.

Turn your shorts inside out and pin the lace trim around the edge of your short's pant leg.  You want to position the lace exactly where you will want the lace trim to lay.

Sew the lace trim to your shorts using either a needle and thread or a sewing machine.  Or, if you chose to glue your trim on with fabric glue, you do not need to pin and you can go right to gluing the trim on.

Next I cutoff the excess trim and put my shorts right-side in.  Below you can see what I mean by "excess trim".  The right side still has the extra trim on while the left has been cut off.

You can see that the stitching appears towards the edge of the shorts (if you used fabric glue, you  won't have this issue).

In order to hide the stitching, I cuffed the shorts at the bottom and ironed over them to make the cuff stay.  You can add a little stitching on the side to help the cuff stay in place when you wash the shorts.  Or, you can use fabric glue to keep the shorts cuffed.

Here are a few pictures of the finished product: