How to insert a stretch waistband!

My love for stretchy waistbands is well documented, from my post about pull-on “mom jeans” last summer to my recently-made collection of pull-on jeans! I really don’t have any pants with a zip and fly anymore… I’m a sucker for comfort! 

With that in mind, here’s how I insert a stretch waistband. It’s really simple, but I thought a mini-tutorial might be helpful! For this example I’m making a pull-on version of the Sewing Cake Hummingbird skirt, but the idea is the same for any garment! The only things that matters is that your fabric has a decent amount of stretch. 

 

Step 1: Cut a rectangle for the waistband. In this case, I used the pattern pice for the Hummingbird skirt!  

 

Step 2: Fold the waistband lenghtwise, and iron. Sew the short ends together to make a loop about 2 inches shorter that your waist measurement. 

Step 3: For a longer lasting waistband, it helps to put in some elastic - but you don’t have too! (A simple folded fabric waistband works just fine if your fabric has good stretch recovery.) Cut the elastic to the same length as the fabric waistband. It’s job is to stop the fabric from stretching out, but it doesn’t need to pull tight or gather the fabric at all! 

I like to zigzag my elastic to the waistband so that it doesn’t roll or twist. Since the zigzagging is only on one side of the folded waistband, you can hide it on the inside of the finished garment and no one will be the wiser! 

Step 4: Pin the folded waistband to the skirt at the sides and centre front/back.

Now, remember how our waistband piece is a bit shorter than the skirt’s measurements? I like to pin the waistband smoothly across the front, and ease the back to fit the shorter waistband. That way it doesn’t pull on my big tummy, and it snugs in above my big butt! 

Step 5: Sew!!! I just serge it, but a purist would probably serge and sew with a stretch stitch. As you sew, gently stretch the skirt to fit the shorter waistband. It’s basically like sewing a folded band on a t-shirt!

Step 6: Iron, and you are done! That’s it! Like I said, it’s really simple.

You can do a wider or narrower waistband depending on the look you want. I’ve done this technique on denim, twill, stretch bengaline and jersey, and they all hold up well to wear. For reference, my waist is 10” smaller than my hips, and I can wiggle into waistbands like these with no problem! 

That’s it from me! There are heaps of other ways to insert a stretchy waistband, like Steph’s tutorial here, or a yoga-style waistband like I did on my lounge pants. On a skirt like this you could always insert a zipper and do a normal waistband… but why??? Avoiding zippers is so sweet, and the finished result is so comfortable! 

How are the waistbands done on your RTW stretch bottoms? Do you have a favourite way to sew stretch waistbands? 

Pants!

Pants! I made pants! It took me months of muslins, and the fit is still far from perfect… but they are totally wearable, and therefore good enough for now! 

The pattern I’m using is the Style Arc Elle pant. It’s a pull-on, elastic waist pant made for stretch wovens, which is pretty close to my favourite RTW pants. It’s also super basic - no fly, no pockets! 

The first time I sewed it up, I was really thrilled! It fit just like my RTW pants! Sweet! But then I start obsessing about the fit problems that my RTW pants share… namely, wrinkles under the butt! I did my research, got help from awesome sewcialists in Pants Club, and made 5 more muslins… and I really thought I’d made some progress! But looking at the pictures you’re about to see, the problems are still there! 

Damn you, wrinkles!

Making pants has really helped me understand the, uh, unique features of my legs. Wide hips, broad thighs, full butt, full belly, knock knees, and more! That’s a lot of separate adjustments to do, all of which end up impacting the fit in other areas. It’s a complex geometry problem which I don’t fully understand!

On the plus side, these are currently my most comfortable jeans! I’d worn them a few times since washing when I took these photos, but the denim holds up well. The waistband is so ridiculously high that it never shifts around or sags lower! (The waistband is a great construction detail, btw: It’s a self-fabric rectangle, with inch-wide elastic zigzagged in place. It’s the same circumference as the waist, so it holds snug without pulling tight.) 

Even better, the pattern is so simple that I’ve been able to whip up a few pairs already. These capris actually came before the jeans above…

I’ve been adding simple patch pockets to each pair, but it’s surprisingly difficult to figure out just where to put them! These ones are a bit too high, others too wide…

Oh look! Wrinkles!

Here’s what they look like in motion… If this is what they look like most of the time, then I’m happy enough! I don’t think they scream “Homemade!”, and they feel good on. 

Somehow I got cocky with these red ones though… I think I overdid a back crotch adjustment, and suddenly nothing lined up! A hot mess all around. Somehow these seem tighter than my other pairs, too, even though they are a very stretchy denim… Next time I’m going to slash and spread to add some ease! 

Look! Less wrinkles when I dance! 

All in all, I’m really thrilled to have made some functional pants. I’ve got a whole pile of fabric to make more, but I need to figure out some fit things first. Have you made pants? How did it go? If you’ve got any concrete fitting advice to give me, I’d be very happy to hear it!