DIY Custom Decorated Denim

Customizing Overalls, Shorts, and Jeans – Great for School Spirit, Homecoming, and More!

As I’ve mentioned a time (or two hundred), homecoming is a big deal in Texas. One of my favorite traditions is wearing overalls on game day. These aren’t just any overalls, they are larger-than-life, loud and proud, and full of school spirit. There are even companies who actually professionally decorate them for you. My daughter is a freshman this year, and she wanted to personalize them herself. Off to Hobby Lobby we went! We bought fabric in the school colors, fabric paint, stencils, stencil brushes, trim, fabric glue, and fusible web tape and sheets (to adhere fabric to the denim using an iron). I recognize my limitations as a seamstress, so I insisted it had to be a no-sew project.

To make it even more fun, she invited some friends over and their moms for an overall decorating party. Snacks and music make everything more festive! Each of the girls got to create their own textile masterpiece, and they all turned out great. They had similar features, but the girls all added their own flair. Everyone left room on their overalls to add something new to them each year.

If crazy overalls aren’t your style, use these tips to customize anything. Make spirit shorts to wear to games. Use stencils to turn an old pair of jeans into something new. The possibilities are endless!

Time to Decorate!

Protect the work surface. We spread garbage bags over the dining room table and covered it with an old sheet. If paint seeped through the sheet, it wouldn’t ruin the table. A drop cloth for painting would work well too. (You can probably hear my husband grumbling that the garage is such a mess that we couldn’t have found drop cloths if we tried!)

Gather supplies.
- Overalls, jeans, shorts, etc.
- Fabric
- Fabric scissors, pinking shears
- Fabric paint
- Fabric paint markers
- We used letters, numbers, and a set of geometric stencils
- Stencil brushes
- Painter’s Tape to hold stencils in place on the fabric.
- Assorted trim
- Fabric Glue to adhere trim to overalls
- Fusible web tape and sheets to adhere fabric to overalls using an iron
Make a design plan, but be flexible. Figuring out what you want and where you want it will save time and minimize frustration. My daughter had a funny idea that we couldn’t quite execute, and we had to add something to cover it.

Cut the fabric to size and adhere to the jeans with fusible web tape or sheets. Using pinking shears (zig-zag cut) minimizes fraying. If you are making straight cuts, allow a little extra on each side and use the fusible web tape to create a hem, so it won’t fray. Iron the fabric on the jeans. (Trial and error tip: We tried stenciling on the fabric first, but trying to iron on the fabric after it was painted was tricky. If you paint first, use a press cloth or an old towel. Some of the paint transferred to the old towel.) We used a free-form shape on the leg, a square on the other leg (to cover a mishap with paint), and covered the pockets.

Paint and Stencil. We stenciled the school letters on the fabric on the leg, her initial on a patch for the other leg, a pattern on one leg, a pattern above the pockets, an outline of the state of Texas on the bib, her graduation year on the fabric on the back pockets, and a basketball on the back of the bib. We outlined the letters stenciled on the fabric and added some paint accents around the fabric. Use painter’s tape to hold the stencils in place, and try to work on as flat of a surface as possible to avoid paint seeping under the stencils. My husband even got in on the fun with some stenciling and adding paint splatters on one of the patches. My daughter used a white paint for the patterned stencil and accented it with orange. One of her friends used a blue paint as the base (for a more subtle look on denim) and added orange accents. Both looked amazing!

Add trim. We used fabric glue to add rick-rack along the waist and a pom-pom trim around the pockets and the patch. (Tip: Use a lighter to heat the end of any trim, rick-rack, or ribbon to sear it and keep it from fraying).
Enjoy being a fashionista!

I love that these can be customized to anyone’s taste. I am going to try my hand at updating some of my jeans with stencils for a fashion-forward trend. I may even look for a narrow stencil to do down the seam of the legs. My daughter wants to make some shorts to show school spirit at games. You could even use cut out iron-on letters or patches.

A Cricut is a great tool for this job! *If you are looking to purchase one or their accessories, shop through our affiliate links on this page. It’s free to you, and we can earn a little money to continue to bring new ideas to you! Nora made her daughter’s overalls last year and cut out letters, numbers, and sports symbols using the Cricut and ironed on the appliques. They looked absolutely amazing! She even added rhinestone accents!