questions about elastic

In article , S of uttered

O.. K ... which martial art(s) in particular are you talking about? Certainly in my own case, elasticating the pants on my judo Gi would lead to certain disaster, as would making them out of other than *very* solid calico, preferably with reinforced knees.

As you surmise, it depends on the elastic. If you stitch through it, it will seriously reduce the amount of "give". You have to stretch the elastic by hand both before and behind the needle as you sew. (Personally I wouldn't recommend it). There is, however, a "sports" elastic you can get, with or without a drawstring threaded through, which has channels along the length of it. You stitch down the channels (stretching as you go) and then steam it like mad.

On a slight tangent from there, what about mens' boxer shorts? My husband's all have the elastic sewn in. Is this a special case? And if you do use elastic with a casing, not sewn in, how do you keep the darned stuff from twisting? Would tacking it in a few places do the trick? Or perhaps two or three vertical lines of sewing with the machine?

Thanks for your help!

Sue

There is a special sort of elastic for sewing in this way. Here's one sort:

As for keeping waist elastic from twisting: yes, I sew it in place! I 'stitch in the ditch' down the seams, so it doesn't show!

Yes. ;-)

Boxer shorts elastic is usually sewn with a chain stitch, so doesn't stretch the elastic out permanenetly. And if you "stitch-in-the-ditch" of CF, CB, and side seams, it will keep the elastic from roling in a casing.

Thanks for all the help! I'm definitely finding that sticking the stuff under the needle is the EASY part of sewing. It's the knowing what to use and when that's difficult.

Sue

A lot of the time you get needle problems with elastic: it tends to grab the thread and hang onto it, giving you loopy threads under the work! Some of this can be alieviated by tightening the upper tension, using a stretch or jersey needle, and sewing slowly. If you look like having to sew elastic in a lot of waistbands, it's worth investing in a roll of waistband elastic.