It was all good til the elastic waistband...(long post)

[Irishheart]

Hello,
So my first sewing project went very well...almost. I made a dance costume for my eight-year-old son from KwikSew 3429. The top, the part that I thought would be most difficult, was rather easy...I cut it from a top from a thrift store...I used the bead and sequin front and back and then cut sleeves with the beads and sequins, too. The pants, basic black stretch jazz pants seemed easy until I got to the waistband. Now I am feeling like a sewing dunce...maybe I have the wrong elastic? Or something..the waistband does not have a casing...you sew the elastic flat and then turn it to the inside and stitch the edge down. The elastic seems too thick to sew, the fabric slips, my pins are too big and slippery, the stitches seem too loose..HELP! How to you do this? I did get the pants to fit perfectly....

[HeyJudee]

Maybe this video will help you with sewing on the elastic without a casing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn9qL9lB7Wc

[LeapFrog Libby]

Re elastic without a casing.. I have never gotten that to work right.. I guess I am just a klutz.. in 65 years of sewing that is one thing I cannot get right.. So I just allow enough fabric for a fold over. Then I join my elastic with a piece of fabric sewn over the 2 edges to join them. Then I use my zipper foot to stitch the casing and the zipper foot rides along the elastic and makes a snug fit for the waistband. I stop halfway around with needle down and pull elastic until i get a straight edge to stitch furthur and if it needs another stop and tug, I do that.. That is what works for me, anyway.

[Irishheart]

Thank you to both of you. I watched the video and attempted the waistband again. I used different elastic this time, but it was still difficult. Hopefully, no one will actually look at it too closely! The zipper foot method sounds like something I will try next time. This looked so easy in the pattern directions, sigh. Libby, if you have been sewing for as long as you have and still have trouble doing this, maybe I won't be so harsh on myself. The only foot I have used so far is the all purpose one; the elastic and slippery fabric didn't seem to feed very well with it.

[LeapFrog Libby]

I find that if i try to stitch elastic I get thread nests on the backside. That is why when I sew the ends together I use a scrap of cotton fabric folded over the ends. Sometimes I use a short piece of grosgrain ribbon. I cannot even get the elastic that has the diffrent lines in it for stitching to work for me. I think part of it is that my Janome does not like sewing on elastic. I stumbled on the zipper foot idea when making jams for my Grandson several years ago. I saw someone on TV do it that way, but cannot remember who did it. I would love to thank them for making it easy.

[temom]

I have never successfully put in elastic that way either. I always make a casing and then insert the elastic.

Libby, do you sew your elastic together before you sew the casing? I have not had good results with that, but then I have never used the zipper foot. I am going to try that with the Christmas PJs!

[bridesmom]

I've only had that work on non stretchy fabric, and I don't like doing it, because if the elastic isn't the exact fit, you have a heck of a mess to rip out. I go for the casing.

[MartySews2]

I put my elastic in a casing a little differently. The elastic is not sewn to the fabric at all. I measure elastic around 3-4 inches smaller than my waist. I use a braided elastic with a firm stretch as I like it to fit snug around my waist. I zigzag the ends together and then quarter it at the seam allowances leaving an overlap of 1/2 inch. Then I stitch the casing using a triple zigzag stitch being careful to not catch the elastic in the stitches. I typically use 1-1/2 inch wide elastic. The elastic is gently stretched while I am stitching from point to point all the way around the pants. If the elastic needs to be replaced later on, I only open a small area and replace the elastic without removing the entire casing. With slippery knits, I use Wonder Tape (a double sided fusible tape) to hold the fabric in place when I stitch. Hope this helps.
Marty

[sewingrandma]

I put my elastic in a casing the way Libby does. My machines just don't like elastic or it could be orperator error but I get the nests and everything else when I attempt to stitch elastic directly onto the fabric then turn down and stitch again.

[LeapFrog Libby]

I have NEVER had any luck trying to stitch elastic to fabric. As I said earlier even that kind with the spaces in it for stitching does not work for me. And yes, I put the joined elastic onto the fabric before I start sewing the casing down. I stitch as far as I can flat, then stop with needle down and pull the elastic to get a flat sewing surface again and stitch some more. I never start inserting elastic until I have measured the person and had them stretch it around their waist and assure me of what is comfortable before I ever start. But if I ever have to rip out a space and replace elastic it does not take long to open a space in the seam to do that. I have had to do that when I was losing weight, but that is so seldom a problem, it is not worth worrying about.