The Mending Basket: Elastic Waistband Fixes

Inside: knitted vs. braided elastic, two waistband fixes, and Victorian eye brooches.

Welcome to mid-October! A warm hello to new subscribers, and a heartfelt thank you to all who’ve been here.

I have a mending basket. It’s approximately two feet tall and a foot and a half wide, and it’s overflowing.

Growing up, my mom had what we called “the landing”. It was in fact a landing, a small, narrow space at the top of our stairs. At the end, beside a window, sat her sewing machine and her sewing materials. It was also where mending went to disappear.

“Put in on the landing,” meant you’d probably never see it again, or at least be parted from it for a very long time. It became an inside joke: don’t let it get to the landing or you’d never see it again.

Or maybe it’s my mom’s quiet and clever way of taking our favorite tatters out of rotation. Either way, the landing wasn’t a place you wanted your clothes to end up.

All these years later, my basket has become the landing, where mending goes to disappear.

So for this edition of Classic Cool Sewing, I’m bringing two items back from the basket: a pair of shorts and a skirt, both with stretched-out elastic waistbands.

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In this letter:

1. Knitted Elastic vs. Braided Elastic

2. Elastic Care for Longer-Lasting Garments

3. Choosing the Right Needle

4. Applying Sew-Through Knitted Elastic

5. Sewing a Casing for Braided Elastic

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(Beyond the basket, you might’ve observed the bags. I received a special delivery from friends at my old job: warehouse scraps! Expect to see these showing up in future editions of Classic Cool Sewing. :)

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From the Mending Basket

First, I’m replacing a sew-through knit elastic that has lost its stretch.

Second, I’ll sew a casing for braided elastic to replace aged elastic thread.

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1. Knitted Elastic vs. Braided Elastic

Source: Wawak

Braided and knitted elastics are two common elastics used in garment making.

Braided elastic can be identified by its lengthwise ridges. Because of its structure, it tends to narrow when stretched, so it’s best used inside casings rather than sewn directly to a garment.

Knitted elastic is usually softer and curls less than braided elastic. It’s a great choice for sew-through applications because it can be stitched through without compromising its stretch or shape.

Can you tell which is knitted elastic and which is braided elastic?

Top: braided elastic. Bottom: knitted elastic.

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2. Elastic Care for Longer-Lasting Garments

Almost all elastic contains rubber, along with other materials like polyester, nylon, and cotton. Heat from hot water washes, ironing, or the dryer can damage elastic fibers over time. To help your garment’s elastic last longer:

• Wash on a cold water setting.

• Hang dry instead of using the dryer.

• If ironing is necessary, use a low heat setting and place a pressing cloth between the iron and the elastic.

But even with care, elastic ages and can deteriorate faster than the rest of a garment. If that happens, you can either replace it or add more (yes, more!). Keep reading… I’ll show a way to replace and a way to add more.

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3. Choosing the Right Needle

Use a ballpoint, jersey, or stretch needle to sew through knitted elastic. A ballpoint needle has a rounded tip that allows it to glide through elastic and knit fabric without snagging or damaging the material.

What’s the best needle for sewing knitted elastic to woven fabric?

This isn’t a trick question, but it’s not a combination I can remember seeing.

Often, elastic in woven garments (as opposed to knits) is enclosed in a casing, as shown below. Smocking or shirring with elastic thread are other ways to add stretch to wovens. That said, I imagine a universal needle could work, but it might compromise the knitted elastic’s integrity.

Sewing knitted elastic onto a woven? Usually, elastic is enclosed in a casing.

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4. Applying Sew-Through Knitted Elastic

There are plenty of ways to mend a waistband, and this is one approach. First step is… you guessed it, remove the old elastic.

Calculating Elastic Length

Comfort counts. For a comfortable fit, wrap the elastic around your waist and pin it closed. (Safety pins placed perpendicular to the band work well here). Wear it around the house to see how it feels, and adjust if needed.

If making a garment from scratch, you may want to sew a trial waistband with the garment fabric because the elastic may stretch out more when stitched down.

For this mend, I didn’t have extra fabric, so I used a similar weight knit scrap and stitched the elastic to it to check the stretch and recovery.

Don’t forget to include extra length for overlapping ends and stitching securely together to close the elastic loop.

Alternatively, this method is a less bulky option. The two elastic ends are butted together and zigzagged.

Can I use a standard sewing machine stitch to sew through elastic?

Yes! You can use a straight stitch or a zigzag stitch. But it’s always good to test first, and you may need to adjust your thread tension.

How to Apply Knitted Elastic to a Self-Fabric Waistband

1. After making my waistband loop, I divided the elastic into eighths and marked the points with chalk.

   

2. Then I pinned the elastic to the inside of the waistband extension (the part that folds over the elastic to form the inside waistband), aligning the chalk marks with the side seams, center front, center back, and midpoints in between.

   

3. With one hand behind the presser foot and the other in front, I carefully stitched along the lower edge of the elastic, stretching it between the pins as I went to fit the fabric.

   

4. With the elastic now attached to the waistband extension, I folded it down and restitched over the original stitch lines on the shorts’ outside.

   

   Keep both hands gently stretching the elastic taut, letting go only when the needle is positioned down in the fabric. Otherwise the elastic can snap back, causing skipped stitches or uneven lines. (It happened to me a few times. Not a big deal. Just keep sewing :)

   One item freed from the mending basket!

   

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5. Sewing a Casing for Braided Elastic

This second mend is a found skirt that made its way into the kids’ costume box. “Costume” in name only, since it’s really a collection of everyday wear with flair. The skirt has fringe and sequins and is made from a faux suede with a (warning?) care tag that reads spot clean only.

The stretchy sequin trim has lost most of its elasticity and the skirt slips down when worn. Since the elastic thread is part of the trim, I’ll add stretch by making a casing for new elastic.

A casing is a hem with an opening so that elastic or ribbon can be drawn through.

1. I started with a long cotton scrap to make the casing. Seam binding, hem tape, or ribbon could also work nicely here.

   

   The finished casing will be slightly wider than the braided elastic and matches the skirt’s waist measurement.

2. Next, I stitched the ends together to form a loop and pressed one edge flat.

   

   Snipping the seam corners also helps reduce bulk.

3. I marked ½ inch from the serged edge as a guide for basting and sewing the raw edge of the casing.

   

4. Next, with the casing turned up, I hand-stitched the folded edge to the skirt’s serged edge, leaving a small opening through which to thread the elastic.

   

5. Finally, I joined the elastic ends to form a loop and closed the opening with more hand stitching. This skirt is ready to make its return to the costume box!

   

P.S. You might be wondering, why not just use sew-through knitted elastic and call it a day? That would’ve been simpler, but I do enjoy the look of a casing, and more importantly, the knitted elastic I had on hand was too wide.

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Victorian Eye Brooches

Since it’s October, it only feels right to end with a touch of Halloween. I’m keeping it low-key this year, so accessories will play a big roll. How about these Victorian eye brooches… or a brooch inspired by one?

source: Lover’s Eyes: A History Lesson

Victorian eye brooches featured a hand-painted single human eye. Only the eye was shown, so the identity of the person could be recognized by someone close.

They were worn as tokens of affection, remembrance, or mourning. In the Victorian period especially, they often served as memorial jewelry, worn to keep a loved one’s gaze near after death.

source: Lover’s Eyes: A History Lesson

Inspired by these Victorian accessories, embroidery artist Celeste Mogador has an entire product offering dedicated to beaded eye brooches.

And over on Etsy, EmbroiderTheTruthUK offers personalized Hand Embroidered Lover’s Eye Portrait Pendants.

What do you think? Would a Victorian eye brooch make it into your jewelry box?

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See you next time, and happy sewing!

~ Jane

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