first things first...if your gonna cut your jeans, its important to wash them a couple times in COLD water to prevent the high water effect. Second...USE pumice stone instead of sand paper..its easier on the jeans plus adds to the 'faded' look as oppose to the 'worn out about to fall apart to shreads' look. Third, when cutting your jeans, if you want that nice fringe, do not cut them straight through. First cut a small part of the jeans and then rip them up manually. That way it will look like your worked them awhile as oppose to that 'clean, just cut my jeans b4 i left the house' look. hope this helps! take care and good luck!