Distressed usually refers to the overall look of the shorts, while frayed usually refers to the ends or the hems.
Denim is the most common material you’ll see in reference to frayed shorts.
A razor: for scrapes and frays. Sandpaper: for an overall distressed look. Tweezers: for removing thread from a raw hem. A seam ripper: for small cuts and tears.
If you’re working on a small section, like on a pocket, use the end of a bobby pin to pick and scrape at the material.
The heat of the dryer can really help to pull out loose threads and make the shorts look even better.
If you want to mark the areas that you’d like to fray, you can do that with a permanent marker—but you don’t have to.
If you have a rotary mat, you can use that instead. As you move to new areas, take the cardboard out and put it back in to protect your shorts the entire time.
If you have a box cutter, you can use that instead of a loose razor. The placement of your cuts is up to you! Go near the bottom hem, the pockets, or just below the butt of your shorts for a cute, distressed look.
This is an easy way to distress your shorts all over, too. Your final look will be frayed jeans with holes all over.
Marking your placement will make it much easier to remember where you want to create the holes. Plus, it can avoid disasters like cutting 2 holes too close to each other and creating one mega-hole.
If you only want to make your shorts look distressed, you don’t have to cut any actual holes.
The coarser your sandpaper is, the more likely it is to create holes in your shorts. If you don’t want that, use a fine grain sandpaper.
The coarser the sandpaper is, the more likely it is to widen the existing holes you’ve already made. Again, you can decide when you’re finished here. Your final look will be soft, distressed shorts that look lived-in and worn.
Unless you’re working on the hem of your shorts, in which case you can go all the way around.
If you’re fraying the hem of your shorts, cut off the bottom hem to expose the loose threads.
You can pull as many or as few threads as you’d like. When you wash your shorts, the areas will become more frayed on their own. Your final look will be a slightly frayed area with individual threads sticking out. Your shorts will become more frayed the more you wash them.
