How to Fix a Broken Drawstring

Drawstrings help pull the hoods of sweatshirts closed in cold weather.

Many of your favorite casual clothes rely on drawstrings. Sweatpants use a drawstring at the waist to keep them from falling down, while a hooded sweatshirt features a drawstring inside the hood to pull it tight around your face in cold weather. If the drawstring in your clothing is broken, you can remove it, tie it back together and thread it back through. This threading method also works for inserting a new drawstring to replace the broken one.

Things You'll Need

• Safety pin
• Replacement string (optional)

Instructions

1. Pull the ends of the broken drawstring out of the clothing. Tie the ends back together using a square knot. If the resultant string is not at least 10 inches longer than the stretched-out waistband or hood, replace it with a shoelace or fabric strip that is long enough.

2. Open a medium-sized safety pin and pin it through one end of the string.

3. Insert the safety pin into one of the opening holes of the hood or waistband. Push it as far into the fabric as you can.

4. Hold onto the safety pin through the fabric. Scrunch the fabric toward the pin with your right hand, then grip the pin at the end of the scrunched fabric.

5. Smooth the fabric behind the pin, which will advance it forward through the waistband or hood.

6. Continue scrunching the fabric toward the pin with your right hand and smoothing it behind the pin with your left, easing the pin forward a little at a time. When the pin comes out the other opening, the drawstring is threaded through. Unpin it, smooth the fabric of the waistband or hood and wear your clothing as you did before.

Resources

• Bay Area Community Exchange: Sustainability 101: Learn How to Fix Your Own Clothes