Q&A

PLUS-SIZE SEWING
By Barbara Deckert

I own a pair of shorts with a too-tight waistband. How do I sew elastic into the waistband to give them more room?
Peggy O.,
e-mail

It's better to purchase ready-to-wear clothing in a larger size and take in the excess where needed. To fix a too-tight waistband, try one of the following methods.

To adjust a waistband with elastic in one or more casings, open the casing at a seam on the inside of the band and remove the elastic. Cut new elastic the same width and a comfortable length plus 1". Insert the new elastic into the casing, overlap the ends 1/2", and then stitch to secure. Insert the joined elastic into the casing and slipstitch the casing closed.

For a band with stitched-on elastic, carefully remove all the stitches holding the elastic and remove it completely. Cut new elastic the same width and a comfortable length, plus 1". Mark the new elastic into quarters. Lap the elastic ends 1/2", forming a circle, and then stitch the ends together. Pin the elastic quarter marks and join to the short's side, center-front and center back seams. Restitch the elastic to the band wrong side while stretching the elastic firmly between the pinned areas.

For a standard waistband, insert triangular gussets into the side seams. Select a matching, coordinating or stretch fabric with similar laundry requirements and preshrink as needed.

To draft a gusset pattern, measure the circumference of the fastened waistband. Measure your waist and add 1" for wearing ease. Subtract the waistband measurement from your waist measurement and divide the resulting measurement by two. Draw a triangle on paper with the base width the determined number and with 6" sides. Add seam allowances to match the seam allowance width on the shorts.

Fold the fabric along the straight grain, and then cut two gussets with the triangle base on the fold, producing a diamond shape. Fold each diamond in half and baste the raw edges together (A).

Remove the side seam stitching for approximately 5". Over-stitch at the hip end of the opening to secure the seam. Cut through the waistband at the upper edge, and then finish any raw edges.

Fit the gusset into the opening with the folded edge even with the waistband upper edge. Right sides together, stitch the gusset starting at the waistband and backstitch where the gusset meets the side seam. Pivot and stitch the opposite gusset side from the gusset tip to the waistband edge. Press the seams away from the gusset (B).

Barbara Deckert is the author of Sewing for Plus Sizes: Design, Fit and Construction for Ample Apparel and Sewing 911: Practical and Creative Rescues for Sewing Emergencies, both from The Taunton Press. Barbara is a custom dressmaker in Elkridge, MD.

From the July 2006 issue of Sew News magazine.