I say it a lot, but I hate elastic. Around my waist, my hips, my ankles, my wrists, my arms… Pretty much the only application in which I don’t hate it is straps. So it’s no shock I hated the elastic waistbands on these ready-to-wear leggings I’ve had for many moons. Having sewn many a waistband by now, it was high time to hack them and replace the elastic waistbands with fabric ones.
How?
I based my fabric bands on the band from the ABB Leggings which is 7″ long. To find the width I needed for each waistband, I measured around the top of the waist after cutting off the elastic. I also measured the original elastic band (unstretched) and calculated that the original elastic was 95% the size of the top of the waist. Waistbands are typically around 85% smaller than what they’re being sewn to. That’s what brings in the fabric to fit your form and, obviously, what keeps your pants from falling down. So I split the difference and decided to cut my bands at 90% the size of the waist top, plus 0.25″ seam allowance.
For both pairs, I used a basic black cotton french terry fabric from Surge Fabrics. It has a 4-way stretch, and though it’s not my favorite texture on the face (a little rough/cheap feeling and acts like a magnet for lint and flotsam), it worked well.
Construction
Sewing the bands on was no different than any other waistband. I sewed the short sides of the band right sides together, turned it right side out, and folded the length in half so the band was about 3.5″ long. Then I quartered the waist on the pants and the band, matched the quarter marks, distributed the stretch between those marks, and sewed them right sides together, stretching the band gently as I sewed.
Et voila. Old leggings are new again, and way more wearable.
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