My son is thin and tall which makes picking up pants for him a complete mess..when they fit the waist they are too short and when they fit the length they are too wide on the waist which brings me to the problem. I bought elastic and tried to sew it to the waist band of his pants but I might be doing something very wrong because the elastic won't contract that much (yes I stretched as I sewed it). Is there any good visual tutorial online for this kind of basic sewing stuff?
Thanks,
FayeC
I can't tell you about sewing in the elastic, but my son also has a difficult time with pants. Slims are even too big in the waist. What I found, and it may depend on his size, Old Navy sells jeans with an adjustable waistband. They have elastic in the band with a button and you pull it to where you need it. Sandy
Faye,
I think what you are saying is you are trying to sew the elastic to the inside of the completed waistband. I don't know if the completed waistband is already elastic or not, but either way, no elastic is going to be able to contract with three or more thicknesses of fabric stitched to it. my prefered way to do what you want to do is take an inch pleat at the side of the waistband on each side. then stitch the pleat down so it isn't uncomfortable. in the waist.
if that doesn't suit, you will probably need to remove the waistband, remove whatever stiffener (iron-on can be removed by heating with an iron) ,or elastic is inside so the waistband is pliable and add in your own elastic. if it already has elastic cut it shorter, if not, then measure the waist, then measure the front waistband and subtract from the full waist measurement.
cut the elastic to the remaining measurement, then sew it into the inside of the waistband and close up the waistband.
Hope this helps, Kitty
Faye,
I noticed you posted earlier about thread problems when sewing - are you trying to sew the elastic?? Or something else? If it is only happening when you are sewing the elastic then this is the source of your problems
- if not have a look at the info the other posters have sent you.
Sewing elastic on can be a PITA, and requires a certain amount of patience and skill. As one of the other posters noted, don't sew the ealstic to the waistband as is, it won't do what you need it to do because the waistband is too thick.
To sew the ealstic, pin the ends into position. Stretch it out between your hands so that it is the same length as the fabric as you sew. Then slowly and carefully sew up one side and down the other. Sew slowly, with good thread and a slightly larger needle than you need normally. Using a narrow zig zag may help. Try to sew the edges of the elastic - sewing through the elastic itself can destroy it. Always secure the ends of the elastic with several rows of stictching - it prevents pull out and fraying.
HTH,
Sarah
DD's waist is smaller than her hips would indicate, so I've done plenty of this sort of thing.
The technique I find works best is to buy buttonhole elastic and a firm ribbon (grosgrain is good) a little wider than the elastic. Stitch the ribbon to the inside of the waistband, right on the edges of the ribbon, and use it as casing to thread the elastic through. Anchor the elastic by stitching at one end. Sew a flat button to the waistband at the other end of the casing. Now you can pull up the elastic until it fits, and release it for growth if you need to.
HTH
These are great tips. My daughter also has a very slim waist (actually she is really skinny even though she eats lots) and getting her anything with a waist that fits is a nightmare. Luckily her school pants come with elastic that can be easily adjusted with a few stitches. Hopefully it will be the same with the culottes that she wants this summer (I'm in Australia and summer is on the way!).
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