Sewing: Inserting Elastic Into Jeans Waist
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One of the disadvantages of a pear-shaped body is that if a pair of ready-to-wear pants fits at the hip, then it is too big at the waist.
Normally, when I sew pants, I make the appropriate alterations. But when it comes to jeans, I prefer to buy them. I did make a pair of jeans many years ago, and I came to the conclusion that I didn't need to do that again! Which doesn't change the fact that I still have this fitting problem! So I know that when I buy jeans, I get to alter them a bit. Wearing a belt only causes parts of the waistband to jut out from under the belt. Inserting darts is a major remodelling effort due to all the pockets on a typical pair of jeans. So my solution is to elasticize the waist. |
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This photo shows how the fitting problem manifests itself: there is usually a big gap at the back between me and the waistband.
By the way, I would like you to appreciate the contortions I went through to take this photo. I stood in front of a mirror, aligned my body appropriately, and aimed the camera, trying to not get the camera in the picture, while holding up my shirt (but not too high!). |
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| The first step is to open the waistband at each end for about an inch. On this pair of jeans, there were several layers to the waistband, and it was actually kind of difficult to see where to apply the seam ripper. |
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Put a large safety pin through the elastic.
Insert the elastic through one open end. Thread the elastic all the way through to the other open end. |
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| Notice how I pinned the tail of the elastic so that it wouldn't get sucked through the waistband. |
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Carefully position the elastic just inside the opening, and stitch it into place. Thread that matches the jeans fabric is expected, of course.
For these jeans, I sewed the elastic down with three short lines of stitching. |
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| Sew the openings closed. In this case, the standard orange contrast thread that jeans usually have is appropriate. |
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Here are the jeans with the elasticized waist. Now they won't feel like they're going to fall down.
You think I'm exaggerating? I actually wore these jeans prior to the alteration. You know how jeans usually stretch a bit once they are worn? Well, I finally had to give up on them, because they just didn't want to stay up at all! And I don't like wearing belts. |
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ConclusionThis type of alteration is a bit fiddly, but is not too difficult. Try it! |