Can anything ruin a day faster than too-tight or too-loose jeans? (Answer: Yes, of course, other things are worse, but badly fitting pants are pretty awful!) Either they cut into your tummy when you sit, causing bloating, discomfort, or “muffin top”… or they stretch out through the day and you have to pull them up every 5 minutes!
That, my friends, is why I love elastic-waist pants. Pants with an elastic waist stay in place all day and are always comfortable. They create a smooth waistline with no lumps, bumps, or fly buttons poking out. Sure, you might prefer a traditional waistband if you are gong to tuck your top in or wear a crop top, but most of the time our waistband stays hidden. Why not be comfortable?
(Some of my many pairs of Style Arc Elle elastic-waist pants!)
Any pants made with a stretch woven can be easily adapted into an elastic waist style. Most recently I’ve enjoyed adapting Closet Case Files’ Ginger Jeans pattern to have an elastic waist, so those are the pants I’m using to show you how I do it.
Materials:
– resilient, stretchy elastic (I use 1″ wide woven ribbed non-roll elastic, as you can see above. Your elastic should stretch easily, but needs enough heft to stand the test of time.)
– high-waisted pants, sewn in fabric with at least 10% stretch, finished except for the waistband. Skip the zipper and sew straight up the front crotch, or do a faux fly without any zip. (Personally, I prefer 30% stretch fabric so I can get a snug fit and still have enough ease to get the pants up over my hips. In my experience these pants stay in place best if they fit right at the natural waist, but feel free to experiment.)
– a strip of the fabric you used for the pants, at least 3-4″ high and wide enough to go around your waist (I ran out of my denim, so I used a contrast fabric instead. Let’s call it intentional.)
– a sewing machine and a serger (If you don’t have a serger, you could probably zig zag the stretchy waistband on, but I’ve never done it myself. Sorry!)
Here’s how:
1. Check the width of your elastic. Cut a long rectangle of your fabric that is about 3 or 4 times the height of your elastic. In the photo above, I’ve folded my 4″ band in half and put the 1″ elastic on top. When you sew the band onto the pants you don’t want to have to go through the elastic as well.
2. Measure the band against your jeans. For a smooth waistband it should be the same circumference as the top of your nearly-finished jeans. (For a demonstration of what goes wrong when you attach a band that is longer than the waist of the jeans, wait till my later pictures! Oops. Do as I say, not as I do.)
3. Sew the short ends of the waistband together to make a loop. Fold in half lengthways and iron.
4. Wrap the elastic around your waist snugly, and cut to the desired length, remembering to add an extra inch or so to join it together. Sew the short ends of the elastic together to make a loop.
5. Use a wide zigzag stitch to sew the elastic to the waistband, stretching the elastic gently to fit the waistband. Now that the elastic is sewn in, it will never roll or flip around inside your waistband! Yay. Re-fold the long edge of the waistband.
6. With your pants inside out, pin the folded waistband to the pants. The zigzag seam should be facing out (away from the pants), so that it will be hidden on the inside of your finished pants. I use about 8 pins, but you can use more or less if you choose! (If you want to get fancy here, you can play with where the waistband is stretched more or less. I pull my waistband tighter in the back so that it doesn’t gape over my booty when I sit, and stretch it less in the front because I have a big belly, but your body type might need difference adjustments. Or you can just pin it evenly all around, and it’ll be fine!)
7. Serge, baby, serge! With all three raw edges lined up, serge the waistband onto the pants. (If you don’t have a serger, play around with using a zigzag stitch instead. I’d start with perhaps a 2.5 length and width, to allow for enough stretch as you pull them on? Narrower and shorter could work too.) Press the seam down, away from the waistband.
8. Ta-da! You have a stretch waistband! Easy peasy. (Now, see how mine is wrinkly and not smooth? That’s because my fabric band was too long compared to my pants. Luckily it won’t ever show when I wear them!)
Here’s what my jeans look like on. Super comfy when sitting or standing, and nice and smooth even under this bamboo jersey top.
As sewists, you know there is always more than one way to do things, so here are a few more methods for a stretchy waistband!
Left: These RTW jeans have a curved waistband and facing, without any elastic. They also have a faux fly, if you prefer that look!
Centre: These are Style Arc Tori pants, which is designed to have the elastic serged on at the top then folded over to the inside. Style Arc has lots of great pull-on elasticated styles, if you want a pattern that doesn’t need adapting!
Right: Here’s a band attached the same was as in my tutorial above, but with a band the same circumference as the pants. Much smoother!
And that’s it! I hope it gives you some inspiration to try out elastic-waisted pants. Go forth and sew – and if you have any questions or other methods to suggest, I’d love to hear from you!
I’ve used a number of different methods including (and mostly!) sewing the band to the pants and threading the circular elastic through a left in opening and finally sewing that opening closed which works fine BUT I like your method better! Much faster and fastening down that elastic with a zig zag would keep it from shifting around inside the band which means it could get twisted then you have a real problem!
Thank you so much for this! I was sewing my Style Arc Elle pants and wasn’t sure how to tackle the waistline. A quick google and this tutorial came up! Pretty apt considering that you and all of you’re the reason I even sewed these pants. Thanks!
This is perfect for altering my 11 year old sons trousers, he pretty much refuses to wear anything smart because of the uncomfy waist.. So hopefully I can now take him out In jeans and ‘smart’ trousers rather than joggers all the time .. Thank u so much 🙂 XcX
Thank you so much! I really don’t want anyone knowing my style secrets. How to look fab and fluffy!
I’m a ‘fish the elastic through the back waistband’ gal. Most RTW jeans will never fit me in the waist and hips, and sometimes even in the ones I’ve made I’ve run elastic back there to keep things from stretching out. Kids’ pants have this all the time; now mine do, too.
That’s a great idea! I’ve made kid’s pants with adjustable elastic waistbands at the back, but I’ve never tried adding to one RTW pants! How do you insert the elastic?
I am going to start doing that! Because of my swayback and considerable butt, my waist is hard to fit. It goes way out at the front and then WAY in at the back, so making pants without a gape there, but that also allow me to move, is basically impossible. Elastic to the rescue!
I have found that moving the waistband opening down and adding a wider waistband is more comfortable. My waistbands are at least 3 inches wide. I stretch them to fit the waist opening. I’m an apple shape.
I’m glad to hear from you, because I always wonder how pants work on apple-shaped torsos! A wide waistband seems like a good way to stabilize things, in the absence of “generous” hips like mine! 😉
I’m new to your blog (Loving it!) so please excuse my question if this has already been brought up – why sew the elastic TO the waistband? I have only done skirts or kids clothes with elastic waists and the pattern always has me make the basic tube, thread the elastic through, yada yada. It allows the elastic to ‘float’ in the waistband. Is it better to attach it for us fluffy gals?
You could definitely insert the elastic the way you described, and it would work just fine. It would make it easier to adjust later on, if that’s a concern.
There are a couple of reasons I like to sew the elastic to the waistband though:
– it never rolls or twists in the laundry/with wear, so it’ll sit flat forever.
– it makes it easier to sew the waistband to the pants when you don’t have to worry that the elastic is shifting around inside (I was lazy the other day and serged a waistband on without securing the elastic first, and it was fussy to pin and didn’t save time in the end.)
– no mucking around feeding elastic through a channel! It’s a stage I prefer to skip, but if you have a method for feeding the elastic through that works well for you, I’d love to hear it! 🙂
I love it! Thanks so much. That’s exactly what I need. I really dislike the lumps from buttons, and elastic waists make all pants like PJs. 😀
I’m all about the secret PJs too! (I’m dressed for work in leggings and a knit dress. Can’t get much comfier than that!) And I think stretchy clothing looks better than tight and binding clothing that’s breaking me into lumps and bumps. Hope you make yourself some comfy pants! 🙂
I have also used this method on jeans and love it!
http://Www.theaddledcreative.com
Do you have any tips or tricks to add? I’d love to hear!
I think this is a great idea and I’m looking forward to trying it on my ginger jeans. It certainly looks like a great way to avoid a muffin top plus be comfortable. I think I’ll put in a faux fly to avoid looking like my grandma.
Let me know if you end up giving it a try! I think putting in a faux fly is a great idea – it’s something I always skip when I come to it in the sewing process, but it can’t be that hard! 🙂
I agree with your statement about elastic waist pants. They’re more comfortable and unless you’re tucking in your top, no one is going to see it. I hate zippered pants, especially jeans. Now I’m inspired to make a stretch pair with a faux fly and elastic waist.
Do it!! A well-fitted pair of pants that doesn’t sag down through the day is a wonderful thing! 🙂
I’m thinking about using my pants sloper to make these jeans –all I need now are the instructions for the faux fly and optional pockets. Any Curvy Sewing Collective sewists willing to do this as a post?
Rear patch pockets are easy to copy of existing RTW pants… and ditto for front pockets, I’d think, as long as you’ve made that style of pocket before and you understand what the pocket bag should look like. As for the fake fly… well, the cheater version is just to top-stitch it on! 😉
I’ve had this tute bookmarked for a while http://thehabygoddess.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/tutorial-how-to-add-faux-fly.html and here is one in a thicker pants fabric http://www.running-w-scissors.com/2012/03/tutorial-oxford-gent-trouser.html If you are using a pattern with a fly in it already you can use that, otherwise just draw in a curve! The first link there gives a bit of guidance. The second link has a bit about pockets, not sure it would be enough for you but I bet you could google ‘drafting pants pockets’ and turn something up.
I’ve always ignored pants patterns with elastic waists before but I checked out Style Arc because of your photos (I’d never heard of them before). I like a lot of the styles but I’m wondering, do you have any difficulties with getting a perfect fit from their patterns if you’re only getting one size when you purchase? I tend to grade from one size at the bust and move up 2 or 3 sizes around the hip and waist… What’s been your experience with these patterns?
Sarah that’s why I’ve always avoided the patterns too – but they’re now selling PDF’s on Etsy and those come with three sizes (in separate files, but still three sizes).
I wish they would nest the three sizes.. but hopefully they’ll move in that direction!?
Thanks for the tip. I think I’ll look there to see what’s available.
I don’t find the one-size patterns an issue with this style of simple pant, because it’s only a matter of adjusting for my waist and hips, not my bust as well. I’d be a little more reluctant to try a complex dress, for example. For pants, i’d suggest going with a size that fits your hips, and then adjust the waist bigger or smaller from there. The stretchy fabric and elastic waist will make the waist easier to fit, too!
Thanks for the response. I know bust size doesn’t come into play here specifically with pants but pretty much EVERYTHING I’ve ever sewn for myself I’ve graded between multiple sizes in different areas to get a better fit. It makes me a little reluctant to try this pattern company…
Sorry – didn’t mean to imply I thought you’d make over-the-bewb pants! 😉 If you do give Style Arc a go, I’d love to hear how you find the patterns!
hahaha! I knew what you meant, but I do have reservations about only getting one size in any pattern — you can’t adjust easily when your own size/shape changes…
These look amazing.
Thank you so much! The benefit of a pull-on pant is that they can be really simple, like the Elle pants in the first picture. Adding the patch pocket is the only part that takes any time – the rest of the pants could be sewn in 45 min!
Your pants look great.
Thank you! The “perfect” fit is always elusive, but any homemade pants will be way comfier for me than store-bought!