Instructions
- Cut Your Elastic to Fit. Following the instructions for your pattern, cut your elastic to fit the part of the body it's going around.
- Pin the Ends Together.
- Join the Ends.
- Form a Square of Stitches.
- Divide the Elastic.
- Divide the Waistband Fabric.
- Apply the Band to the Fabric.
- Stitch.
Heating the Elastic
- Turn on the iron and dampen a cloth. You want your iron on and set to the highest setting.
- Prepare your pants. You can either pin each side of your pants to the ironing board—stretched to the desired length.
- Place the damp cloth over your elastic.
- Iron the elastic.
- Repeat as necessary.
You could sub in hair ties or elastic head bands for regular elastic. Joann Fabric and Craft stores suggests swapping in cord, yarn, ribbon or other stretchy materials. You could also use bias tape. The CDC also says cloth strips, rubber bands, or string could work.
As a result, many people are asking if they can cut elastic lengthwise – i.e. “Can I cut 1/2″ elastic in half to make 1/4″ elastic?” I do not recommend cutting elastic in half lengthwise, it almost always makes the elastic fray and/or lose integrity.
How Wide Should Elastic Be? Here are some rules of thumb to follow: Waistbands: 3/4 to 1 inch for most garments, 1/2 inch may be wide enough on lightweight children's clothing.
Question: Does elastic melt when ironed? Answer: As long as your iron is not to hot and if you don't keep the iron on it for a long time no it will not melt but if you do use to high of a setting on your iron or you linger to long it will melt.
Cut a little slot on each side of the jeans, on the inside, just in from the side seams. Take a length of elastic just a little bit shorter than the jeans are wide. Pop a safety pin on one end. Then start poking the elastic through one of the holes you have cut.
You can simply remove the elastic and replace it with a good one. One more thing that you can do with the elastic is, make a cut in the fold of the waist, pull out the elastic and pinch it as much as you want to tighten your waist.
To work the elastic into the hem, insert the closed safety pin into the opening in your pant leg hem. Then, begin to work the elastic through the hem using the safety pin to move it along. You will have to work slowly and move the safety pin through the hem just a little at a time.
Cut a small slit in the interior fabric. Thread a smaller elastic alongside the bigger one. Pull to desired size, then knot or sew. A few stitches to sew the cut shut — and you have perfect fit!
This 'roll-over' can be caused by the difficult to fit proportions of a rounded tummy but this isn't always the case - some people find it is amplified by the size of their belt loops or the width of their belt. They notice that some pants buckle all of the time and other pairs do not.
In fact, if you have hips, thighs, and booty, chances are you've experienced the dreaded back gap —or waist gap — with the majority of jeans you've tried on. Back or waist gap is when your jeans fit nice and snug in the butt, hip, and thigh area but gap at your waist and lower back area — leaving way too much space.
The Details: How I sew elastic waistbands
- STEP 1: Cut a wide waistband. I like 2″ elastic.
- STEP 2: Sew the ends to form a ring. Line up the two short ends, right sides together, and mark the center point.
- STEP 3: Edge-stitch the seam allowance.
- STEP 4: Press the waistband in half.
- STEP 5: Attach the waistband.
- STEP 6: Insert the elastic.
