QUICK FIX FRIDAY: UPDATING AN OLD (OR TOO LONG!) PAIR OF JEANS IN 5 MINUTES

OUTFIT DETAILS: SIMILAR JACKET (only $36!)   ||  FRINGE TANK (hurry, it's selling out fast!!)  ||  GAP JEANS  ||  HEELS (similar here and here)  ||  VINCE CAMUTO BAG  ||  SUNGLASSES 

Today's five minute tutorial accomplishes two things. One, it instantly updates an old pair of jeans, and two, it's an easy way to shorten your jeans without having to hem them. So you can weed through your old jeans and make them fresh and new in five minutes!

I've shared a few ways to update your jeans in the past, like how to make a baggy pair of jeans skinnier, hemming jeans while keeping the original hem, and distressing your own denim, but today I'm going to share how shorten them up and keep the hem raw, which is a fresh, modern look.

I've had these jeans for four or five years, and I just never wear them anymore. Now with this quick and easy update, I absolutely love them and plan to wear them all the time!

Click READ MORE below to find the tutorial!

QUICK FIX FRIDAY: HOW TO PATCH A HOLE IN YOUR JEANS

OUTFIT DETAILS: JEANS, restocked in all sizes! (also available here and here) | |  T-SHIRT  | |  HEELS (SIMILAR HERE)  | |  SUNGLASSES (Get your first month of endless eyewear free with code MERRICKSART)  | |  HANDBAG

photos by sara walk

Boyfriend jeans are so trendy right now, and there are so many amazing pairs out there. But although I love distressing probably more than most people, some pairs tend to have full holes up on my thighs, which I want to keep covered up.

Instead of shying away from a killer pair of jeans (like these) because of a hole up higher than you'd like, try a patch! It's such an easy quick fix that you'll have done in less than ten minutes.

Click "READ MORE" below to find the full tutorial! 

QUICK FIX FRIDAY: LONG SLEEVE TO SHORT SLEEVE REFASHION

OUTFIT DETAILS: target top (old, similar here for $10!) | asos pleated skirt (almost sold out, similar here) | charles david heels | lulu* clutch | karen walker sunglasses

I bought this top a couple of years ago from Target when I instantly fell in love with the windowpane print. I wore it a few times, but it never seemed to look right and I couldn't put my finger on what I didn't like about it. Then a few weeks ago I saw a similar shirt online, but it was short sleeved. Duh! I instantly knew what was the problem with this shirt, and that it needed short sleeves right away. I'm not a big long sleeve wearer, so chopping off a foot of each sleeve was just what it needed to make this shirt more me. And now I've worn it more in two weeks than I have in two years. 

This is a super quick and easy fix you can do to shorten your sleeves. This works with any length of sleeve, and you can shorten them one inch or twenty inches -- it's all the same method!

Step 1. Try your shirt on and determine how long you want your sleeves. Mark with a pin. 

Step 2. Carefully remove your shirt and lay it flat on the floor with the sleeves as flat and smooth as possible. Using a straight edge ruler and rotary cutter (scissors work fine too), cut the sleeve one inch below your marking point. Make sure the angle of your cut matches the original hem. Repeat for the second sleeve.

Step 3. Turn your shirt inside out fold the hem of the sleeve up half and inch, and then again another half an inch. Pin in place. Then turn right side out again and sew around the sleeve with a wide straight stitch. Repeat for the second sleeve. 

Step 4. Press and you're done! 

Now the fun part is going through your closet and deciding which shirts to chop!! If you use this tutorial (or any of my tutorials), post a picture on social media and tag me @merricksart so I can see! 

Happy weekend projecting!