DIY tutorial: Adjusting the waist of jeans using elastic

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Hi guys,

Sorry or hoorah for all the DIY tutorials so far! I thought I would upload the tutorials before I go back to University just in case I have less time on my hands for the blog.

But anyway over the years I have been adjusting jeans myself due to my height (I'm really short), and more recently I've been adjusting the waist of the jeans using elastic since jeans don't seem to fit around the waist for me (I'm a size 14 on the thighs but have a smaller hip especially high waisted jeans).

I came up with the elastic method after realising my love of elastic with dresses:
  • So easy to use
  • Gives you an hourglass figure when you take in the waist of a dress
  • Comfortable/ stretches when you want to eat for your hearts desires!
The jeans I'm using are the high waisted Primark jeans, but the same method can be applied for other jeans with a separate waist band.

Take into account the amount needed to be taken in. For example if you have bought a size 16 jeans but you need to take in to a size 12 at the waist, alot of bunching is going to happen around the waist, which might not be very appealing to the eye. So I would recommend only do this method if you need to take in about 4 inches maximum.

The great thing about this method is that over time if you need to take in more or if the elastic is too tight you can always do the method again and you haven't permanently damaged/ruined your jeans!

Things you will need:
  • Jeans
  • Pins
  • Elastic
  • Safety pins
  • Scissors
  • Chalk
  • Seam ripper
  • Jeans Needle or size 16 needle
Tutorial:
1. Unpick about 2 inches of the waistband at each side seam
2. Since the whole waistband will detach from the jeans, resew the inner waistband back to the seam like so, which will enable only the outer waistband to be free from the jeans
3. Repeat this on both sides of the waistband
4. To prevent the elastic from twisting in the waistband, I like to mark the correct side of the elastic at both ends with chalk so that I know which is the right side


5. Pin down the elastic to the inside of the waistband and sew a zigzag stitch to attach. By applying the elastic like this to the inner waistband, the zig zag stitch will only be visible on the inside of the jeans so that you don't see this stitching on the outside of the jeans.
6. On the other end of the elastic, attach a safety pin and feed the elastic into the jeans and pull out through the other end of the waistband opening.
7. In order for the waist to be brought in, the elastic length needs to be smaller than the waistband. I would recommend to add a temporary safety pin to the waistband, try on the jeans and see if the elastic needs to be shortened.

8. Once you have the correct size of the elastic, repeat step 5 by pinning the other end of the elastic down and sewing a zigzag stitch.
9. Reattach the waistband to the jeans by sewing a straight stitch .
And there you have it; a pair of jeans that fit at the waist!

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