Our Most Popular Blog Post—It’s on How to Sew Elastic!

I try to keep a pulse on what sewing, quilting, and embroidery topics you enjoy the most. For over the past two years, The Absolute Easiest Way to Sew Elastics is in the top five viewed blogs—every day! So in case you haven’t used this technique before, I thought I’d let you in on this sewing secret too.

The Absolute Easiest Way to Sew Elastic

The above picture doesn’t look like much. That’s the point! It’s the easiest way to sew elastic to a waistline without the telltale topstitching of an elastic waistline.

Over the years, I’ve tweaked and personalized sewing techniques.  My favorites are collated in my book, The Absolute Easiest Way to Sew. Now I’ll share a bonus technique for the letter “E” for inserting Elastic in a waistline. I believe you’ll find this technique to be the absolute easiest way to sew elastic to a waistline.

Prepare the elastic.

Cut the elastic 2″–4″ smaller than your waistline measurement, depending on what you feel is comfortable. (If your waist is quite a bit smaller than your hips, pin the elastic together without trimming off the excess.)
Try on the elastic, pulling it up over your hips. If the elastic is too tight to slide comfortably over your hips, readjust the elastic before sewing it together.
Zigzag the elastic ends to woven fabric without overlapping the ends. (This tip eliminates the bulk that occurs when elastic is connected by overlapping its ends.)  Zigzag several times.
























Trim away the excess woven fabric.
Quarter mark the elastic. Fold it in half and then in half again, placing a pin at each quarter.
Also quarter mark the waistline.

Attach the elastic.

Pin the elastic to the garment at each quarter point, meeting the elastic to the wrong side of the garment. 












Serge or zigzag the elastic to the cut edge of the waistband, stretching the elastic to fit. (This is what real sewing looks like, sometimes it’s not perfect.)

Fold under the elastic for a casing. Check to be sure the fabric is securely wrapped around the elastic.

Stitch through the elastic and garment at each seam. This holds the casing and elastic in position. Don’t stitch the elastic to the waistline along the lower edge. This is enough stitching!

When wearing the skirt or pants, that telltale elastic stitching is gone. The sewing is about as easy as it gets! How about that!

All my favorite sewing tips are in one book.


The Absolute Easiest Way to Sew chapters include:


Sewing Notions
Sewing Machine Confidence
Serger Spotlight
Patterns
Fabric Facts
Sewing Basics
Beyond the Basics

Watch the 3-part series of  The  Absolute Easiest Way to Sew  on Sewing With Nancy online.

To watch Sewing With Nancy on your iPad, iPod Touch, or iPhone, download the app.

 Nancy’s Top  Viewed Sewing and Quilting Blogs:

The Absolute Easiest Way to Sew in a Zipper
The Absolute Easiest Way to Sew Binding
2015 Adventure Quilt: Block of the Month
Top Creative Designer Bag Sewing Tips
Quilt to Give 

And I hope you’ll give my elastic sewing tip a try!

Bye for now,

Nancy Zieman—author, pattern designer, businesswoman, producer, and national sewing authority—is the host of the popular show Sewing With Nancy, which appears exclusively on public television stations across the United States and Canada. Follow Nancy’s blog at nancyzieman.com/blog and sign up to receive Nancy’s E-News for the latest news in sewing, quilting, and creating.

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