{"id":154111,"date":"2020-09-02T05:00:38","date_gmt":"2020-09-02T10:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.craftsy.com\/blog\/?p=154111"},"modified":"2021-03-21T20:25:02","modified_gmt":"2021-03-22T01:25:02","slug":"how-to-sew-an-elastic-waistband","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/2023.craftsy.com\/post\/how-to-sew-an-elastic-waistband\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Sew an Elastic Waistband That Never Twists"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Elastic\n

Your basic elastic waistband is nobody’s idea of a good time. The elastic always twists and turns inside its casing, forming gathers that bunch up unevenly around the waist. Why? Because most waistbands have an elastic that’s just floating inside a tube of fabric. This post can help you sew and elastic waistband.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, there’s a much better way to sew an elastic waistband<\/a> \u2014 and stop this annoyance from happening ever again. All it takes is the right technique.<\/p>\n

The Secret to a Twist-Proof Elastic Waistband<\/h2>\n

Simply put, you need to sew elastic directly to the fabric, forever joining the two parts together. It’s incredibly easy, and you can use a conventional machine, a serger<\/a> or an overlock machine to do it.<\/p>\n

This technique isn’t just for waistbands, either. You can use it for any elastic<\/a> you’d put into a casing. But since this method only has you fold the fabric into the garment at an amount equal to the width of the elastic, you want to trim off any extra fabric that might otherwise get folded an extra time (according to the instructions on your pattern).<\/p>\n

For example, the patterns for most elastic waist garments tell you to fold the fabric a small amount, usually about \u00bc”, then fold it again a scant bit wider than the elastic you’re inserting. This is to avoid having an exposed raw edge on the inside of the item. But since you’ll only be folding the fabric the width of the elastic \u2014 and finishing the raw edge of the fabric at the same time \u2014 any extra fabric that would’ve gotten folded needs to be cut off. Otherwise the pattern won’t work.<\/p>\n

How to Sew an Elastic Waistband<\/h2>\n

Level:<\/strong> Easy<\/p>\n

What You Need<\/h3>\n