How to Sew a Skirt with a Stretchy Waistband

Even the first time, elastic is surprisingly simple to work with.

If you’ve never sewed a skirt or anything else with elastic, you’re in for a most pleasant surprise. For now, working with elastic may seem like a mysterious and daunting exercise, but it’s actually quite simple. In fact, making an elastic waistband requires fewer steps than stitching a regular fabric waistband. After you make one skirt with a stretchy waistband and see how quickly it comes together, you’ll want to add to your wardrobe again and again, stretching your wardrobe budget in exciting and colorful ways.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring tape
• Scissors
• 1-inch elastic
• Skirt fabric
• Sewing machine (and thread)
• Iron
• Safety pin

Instructions

1. Measure your waist at its smallest part. Circle your waist with the elastic, and judge how it will feel if it were cut between 2 and 4 inches smaller than your waist measurement. You want the elastic waistband to be snug, but not tight. Cut the elastic accordingly and set it aside.

2. Place the skirt fabric with the right sides together. If the fabric is in two pieces, stitch a 1/2-inch seam allowance on both sides. If the fabric is in one piece, fold the fabric in half and stitch a 1/2-inch seam allowance on the selvage side.

3. Iron the seam flat open and turn the skirt right-side out.

4. Make the casing for the elastic by folding 1 1/2 inches of the top edge of the skirt (the waistband) to the inside of the skirt, then ironing it.

5. Stitch around the waistband, less than a half inch from the raw edge, and leave a 2-inch opening to thread the elastic through.

6. Attach a safety pin to each end of the elastic. Then begin feeding one end through the opening in the waistband casing. Pull the pin all the way around the waistband by holding onto the pin at all times -- grabbing the fabric waistband in the other hand and gently easing the pin toward the end of the casing.

7. Overlap the two ends of the elastic, pin them together and then stitch securely, going over the seam several times for reinforcement.

8. Stitch the 2-inch opening closed and finish the hem.

Tips & Warnings

• You may use a wider elastic for your skirt, but anything less than 1-inch-wide will invariably pinch your waist and feel uncomfortable. Alter the casing width accordingly to accommodate an elastic of a different width.

• Except among children, elastic waistbands fell out of favor because many adults viewed them as less tailored and sophisticated than upright waistbands. However, no one has to know your skirt has a stretchy waistband if you cover it with a jacket or sweater.

References

• Sewing Made Easy; Dorothy Sara
• Stitch by Stitch: Learning to Sew, One Project at a Time; Deborah Moebes