Elastic Waistband Replacement

I heart these pants

Have you ever picked up a pair of elastic waistband pants, only to hear the devastating crunch of an elastic waistband gone bad? Over time, some elastic may become brittle and lose its elasticity, and that’s when you hear the dreaded snap, crackle and pop of the waistband, and you’re left with an un-stretchy useless waistband.

That happened to one of my favorite pairs of flannel PJ pants. Ugh.

These pants are huge and the flannel is perfectly soft from years of wear. When I realized the elastic had finally given out, I put them in a pile to toss in the garbage, but the thought of parting with them pained me, so I picked them back out and threw them in the sewing room for repair.

This is a quick, hacky fix, and I did it in this way because I don’t typically leave my house wearing them, although, truth be told, they have seen the inside of a Walgreens when I’m sick and in need of over the counter pharmaceuticals and too exhausted to care about changing my clothes.

I used super soft waistband elastic that is meant to be worn directly against your skin - not the rigid, scratchy, braided elastic that is meant to be inserted into a fabric casing. So here’s how to do it in 5 easy steps:

1. Cut off off the bad waistband and serge the raw edges to finish them. I measured out the elastic to the right size for my waist (adding 2” to account for overlap) and cut the elastic.

2. Overlap the raw edges of the elastic 1” to form a loop and use a zigzag stitch to secure them together (make sure it’s not twisted!).

3. Make quarter marks on both the elastic and the pants (12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock). Pin the elastic around the right side of the waist, matching up quarter marks and stretching the elastic to fit.

4. Sew the elastic to the waist using a zigzag or serger. I zigzagged it.

5. Flip the elastic up and stitch in the ditch using a stretch stitch to finish.

Cut off old waistband

Cut right along the old waistband to minimize loss of fabric

Serge the raw edges

Serging will help contain the fray. If you don’t have a serger, zigzag the edge.

Prepare new elastic

Overlap by 1” to create a tube and zigzag the edges to secure

Pin elastic to pants

Match up raw edges and quarter marks with the elastic on the outside of the pants

Attach new waistband

Zigzag or serge the new waistband on, stretching the elastic as you go

And there you have it, one pair of super comfy pants spared from the trash!