DIY: Elastic Elation
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DIY: Elastic Elation

You guys! I finished a mending* project thanks to something I learned on the internets!

So, I’ve had this vintage beaded skirt  for years, but never really wore it because the elastic waist was SO stretched out. Even a belt wouldn’t keep this sucker up.

Enter this video and my newfound do-it-yourself-y-ness, and I decided to try my hand at fixing the waistband. MYSELF.

Step 1: Remove the thread from the waistband. I used a seam ripper, but it still wasn’t as easy as it looked in the video. Dangit.

Step 2: Open up a section of the waistband casing (that’s a TECHNICAL term, you know) and cut the old elastic inside before pulling it out through the opening.

Step 3: Insert new, stretchy elastic into the waistband. I didn’t measure the elastic because that seemed too much like the right thing to do, I just stretched it around my waist and guessed.

Step 4: Sew the ends of the new elastic together and stitch the opening in the casing shut.

Even with the double row of stitching through the elastic, it was a fairly easy project! And I love the result:

Isn’t the beading pretty? It’s like getting new clothes without going shopping!

Thrifted oxford; Limited belt; Nine West shoes; Gucci sunglasses

Yay for me and learning from the intergoogle! I already have another project in mind…

*I literally have a basket of mending like ladies had in Ye Olden Days. I’m 80.

12 Comments
  • Ashe @ Dramatis Personae

    June 8, 2011 at 8:51 am

    This is why elastic waistbands are so amazing! I feel like they kind of get a lot of shit… but I’m a huge fan of them. Comfy to wear, easy to fix/replace, easy to alter!

  • Kerissa

    June 8, 2011 at 2:00 pm

    Elastic makes my heart skip a beat. If I’m given a skirt or locate a can’t resist thrifted one I have my tailor add elastic and Just like that it’s my size. I’m so not a DIY-er.

  • Nicole Martin

    June 8, 2011 at 9:13 pm

    Ahh! I have a skirt that needs the same exact thing!!! Cobalt blue with pleats… I need to get on that. I have all the tools but have had little free time lately. Thanks for the motivation 🙂

  • Sara

    June 8, 2011 at 10:52 pm

    Great fix!

    I too have a ton of things that need to be fixed or altered. Putting them in a basket is a good idea; mine are taking up valuable closet space.

  • Tina

    June 9, 2011 at 2:43 am

    oh my goshhhhh im just like you with the basket of clothes needing to be fixed!! i get so lazy cause its just so tedious and it sits there for MONTHS! i just finished taking off the sleeves off a knit sweater and hand stitching the seams on it. its been like 3 years i kid you not! >.<

  • Jess

    June 9, 2011 at 3:01 am

    I love this DIY! The skirt is so beautiful, it only needed a little mending for it to be back in working order. Lovely! =)

  • Victoria/Justice Pirate

    June 10, 2011 at 4:59 pm

    oh Tamia, you did an amazing job on this! I love this outfit in general too!! You’ve been featured as a modest outfit inspiration at http://rubyeyedokapi.tumblr.com and will be again this weekend on my personal fashion blog.

    • tamia

      June 13, 2011 at 9:33 pm

      Thanks Victoria! The post looks great.

  • jemappelleshen

    June 17, 2011 at 7:34 pm

    Nice work! Pretty skirt!

  • Whitney

    June 24, 2011 at 11:47 am

    This is SO stunning! Thank you for sharing!

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