How to Ladder Jeans

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: September 29, 2022 References Approved

If you like the way that naturally distressed jeans look, but don't have the time to wait for them to get that way, laddering jeans might be a great solution for you. When you ladder jeans, you deliberately wear down the denim and pull threads from the jeans to create that worn-in look. Laddered jeans are popular in urban streetwear and punk fashion. If you follow the right techniques and use the right tools, you can create your own laddered jeans with a little effort, right at home.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Distressing and Designing your Jeans

1
Choose a pair of jeans that you want to ladder. Choose a pair of jeans that you'd like to distress. If this is the first time altering a piece of clothing, use a cheaper jean that you don't mind destroying. If you don't have any cheap jeans, you can go to a thrift shop to purchase an affordable pair. ^{[1]
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- Stretchy jeans are the best for laddering.
- Get tighter jeans if you're going for a sensual look.
- Get baggier jeans if you are going for the "tomboy" look.
2
Rub the laddered area with sandpaper or a pumice stone. To get a more natural look for your jeans, you can distress the area that you want to make the ladder with a pumice stone or some sandpaper. Place the stone or the sandpaper on where you want to distress your jeans and scrub your jeans horizontally with your tool. This will break down the vertical or blue threads in your jeans and give it a naturally worn look.^{[2]
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- Use a 220 or higher sand paper when distressing your jeans.
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3
Mark the area where you want to create the ladder. Traditionally jeans are laddered at the knee. Put your jeans on and use a white chalk to make two to four-inch (5.08 - 10.16 cm) horizontal lines on the areas if you are creating the ladder at the knees. The line on the back pockets should be two inches (5.08 cm) or smaller. The piece of fabric in between these marks will be your ladder.^{[3]
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- The line on the side seam should be half an inch (1.27 cm) or smaller.
- You can also choose to ladder other parts of the jean including the back pockets and side seams.
- Decide on if you want the ladder to be above, below, or covering your entire knee.
- You must decide on how large you want the rips in your jeans to be and how many rips you want.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Creating the Ladder

1
Place a magazine or cardboard into the leg of your jeans. The cardboard or magazine will prevent you from cutting into the backside of the jeans. Put it on the leg that you're laddering at the time.^{[4]
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2
Cut two slits to create your ladder. Fold the jean vertically at the line you created and cut the line you drew with a scissor. Measure an inch above the cut and make another identical cut running parallel to the cut you just created. You can also use a razor blade or box cutter to cut the lines as long as the magazine or cardboard is under your blade.^{[5]
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3
Look at the underside of the cut and pull out the blue threads. Flip the tab that you created with the two cuts and look at the underside of your fabric. The blue threads running vertically on the inside of your pants are called warp threads. Pull these out with tweezers until all that remains is the white "ladder" threads.^{[6]
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- The vertical white threads in your jeans are called weft threads and should be left intact to create the ladder.
- When laddering on smaller parts of the jean like the side seam or back pocket, measure a half inch (1.27 cm) up instead of an entire inch from your initial cut.
4
Continue to pull blue threads until your jeans are laddered. Continue to pull out all the blue threads in your ladder until the white threads are the only threads remaining. Once you've done this, you can repeat the process to create other ladder areas around your jeans.^{[7]
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- If you want larger gaps in between your ladder, you can pull some white threads as well.^{[8]
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5
Continue to create ladders until you reach the look you want. Continue to repeat the steps on other pieces of your jeans until you reach the look that you desire. Once you've distressed your jeans in multiple places, you'll have created your owned laddered jeans.

Community Q&A

Question

When laddering jeans, should I use real jeans or fake ones?

T. Chinsen

Top Answerer

For an authentic look, you need denim fabric of actual jeans. Denim is a heavier weight than standard cotton and can take the distressing of the threads. Thinner fabrics have thinner threads and will break more easily. You may end up with a hole instead of a ladder.