Are your jeans too big in the waist?

I've decided I'm going to try for Blogtoberfest, so needed a blog post for today.

Today I adjusted some jeans to fit me and took photos so you can see how I did it.   Sort of a tutorial, but will only work for you if you have jeans that are too big in the waist and fit everywhere else.

My friend had bought a pair of not-cheap jeans online but when they arrived they were the wrong shape for her, so she gave them to me knowing I was short on nice clothes at the moment.  They're a size or two too big for me but they are the nicest denim I've felt for ages!

So I needed to make them tighter around the back of the waist.  I tried them on and held a piece of elastic across my back to see how much I needed.  I then took about an inch off this measurement to make it snug.

I marked on the jeans where I wanted to elastic to start and end.  I'd selected a point about halfway between the sideseam and the first belt loop around the back.  You can just see my white mark where the red arrow is pointing.

Then I cut open the inside of the waistband on the marks, and inserted one end of my piece of elastic by about an inch towards the front of the jeans.  I stitched the elastic  through all layers of the waistband about 1/2" to the left of the opening.

Next I threaded the elastic through the waistband, around the back of the jeans, and came out the hole on the other side.  I pinned the elastic to the waistband to the left of the opening (towards the back of the jeans).

Whilst the sewing pin was holding the elastic in place, I tucked the other end into the waistband through the opening and pushed it in towards the front of the jeans.  I have a really nice pair of bent nose tweezers which are good for this sort of thing.  Again I stitched about 1/2" past the cut opening, towards the front of the jeans to hold the elastic in place.

I then used a 3 stitch zig-zig to go over the cut openings and stop then from fraying.

Both lots of stitching can be seen from the outside of the waistband, but if the thread is colour matched well, you can hardly see it, and I'm unlikely to ever display the waistband of the jeans.  I'll usually have a top long enough to cover my waist, or I'll be wearing a belt over the jeans.

So there you have it, how to add elastic into the waist of your jeans.

Why don't you join us for Blogtoberfest? It's not too late to join, head over to Tinniegirl and sign up and start blogging. What? You don't have a blog? Then sign up!