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Cost: $ $ $ $ $

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Time: 2h00

Patriotic shorts for any occasion
So, I was desperately in need of something beyond cute to wear for Independence day. Not only is it basically my favorite holiday, but it was also my grandfather's 80th birthday this year. Here are my DIY American flag shorts.

Posted by Alyssa C. from New Orleans, Louisiana, United States • Published 12th July 2011 • See Alyssa C.'s 3 projects »

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youaredabomb added Star Spangled Shorts to American Party 30 Apr 09:31
Toxic Cupcake Killjoy favorited Star Spangled Shorts 01 Jul 15:43
Katrina L. favorited Star Spangled Shorts 30 Jun 19:31
Aqua B. favorited Star Spangled Shorts 30 Jun 16:56
Margaret H. added Star Spangled Shorts to Try this 30 Jun 16:27
Margaret H. favorited Star Spangled Shorts 30 Jun 16:26
Jessica N. favorited Star Spangled Shorts 08 May 21:22
Crafterella added Star Spangled Shorts to Kesha 10 Feb 21:47
Danielle H. favorited Star Spangled Shorts 31 Dec 01:13
Crafterella added Star Spangled Shorts to Lana Del Ray 05 Dec 18:35

Step 1
So I'd like to start by saying I'm really bad about starting my pictures half-way through the project. I apologize. I think I just get so excited about starting my craft that I forget. If this is a little confusing at first, I'm sorry. I promise it's actually really easy.

I started with a pair of jean shorts I already had but didn't really wear that much because they are kinda long and boring. I laid them down and on the right side when looking at them I measured from the inside inseam to the outside inseam. Mine were exactly 9 inches. I decided to make 9 inch wide vertical stripes, with the outside one being white. Using the red paint, I made inch long horizontal lines across the bottom hem, skipping an inch in between.Then I painted the red vertical stripes using those marks.

I then used the paintbrush to paint bleach in between the red stripes. I painted about 6 coats, letting them dry for about 5 minutes in between each. Less coats will obviously make them less white if that's what you want. Make sure you put a white towel in between the front and back of the shorts. The paint doesn't bleed through but the bleach does.
Step 2
Then I cut out the stars and taped them where I wanted them on the left side of the shorts. I painted the blue paint over the stars and all over the left side. I painted it a little darker right around the stars and a little lighter everywhere else. They should look something like this.
Step 3
Then I used the tip of my paint brush to paint the bleach inside the stars. Don't worry about being exact. I kinda painted the big space in the middle and just a little into the points and the jean fabric wicked the bleach into the rest of the space. Again, I did about 6 coats, letting it dry 5 minutes in between.
Step 4
This is what they look like completely dried.
Step 5
I also used the same methods to add this design to the back because I felt like they were too plain on the back side.
Step 6
Ta-da!