how to add adjustable elastic to kids’ pants
in 5 easy steps

November 24, 2009 | 35 Comments

adjustable elastic kids pants

My daughter is growing like a weed, except she’s only growing up, not out. She’s got 4-5T legs and a 3T waist. That means that most of the pants we find that are long enough won’t stay up.

I try to only buy pants with an adjustable waist, but sometimes I come across a great deal or something super cute that I just can’t pass up. I decided to try adding elastic myself, and you know what? It’s super easy!

You can even do this without a sewing machine as long as you don’t mind a little hand stitching.

Materials
button hole elastic
small, sharp pair of scissors
two buttons that fit through your elastic
Fray Check
needle and thread

Step 1
Starting on the right inside of the waist, snip two holes to create a casing for the elastic. Make sure your scissors don’t go through to the other side! Apply Fray Check to the raw edges.

adjustable elastic kids pants

Step 2
Cut a piece of elastic that’s about one inch longer than between your holes. Fold one edge over and sew. This is the edge you’ll be using to adjust the pants.

adjustable elastic kids jeans

Step 3
Sew a button in front of the casing you’ve created.

button hole elastic

Step 4
Thread the elastic through the waist casing with the finished edge going through the front. You can tuck the unfinished edge into the back.

adjustable elastic kids jeans

Step 5
Sew a line of stitches to secure the elastic. See arrow.

adjustable elastic kids pants

Here’s what you’ll see on the outside of the pants.

Repeat on left inside of the waist.

refashion: The only thing worse than sizing for women’s pants is sizing for kids’ clothes. At least with this little trick, I can just make sure pants look long enough when I buy them. It’s nice knowing how easy it is to adjust the waist. Maybe I should try this on my jeans!

Category: all posts, mending, refashion, reshape, sewing, tutorials
Tags: adjustable > alteration > button > easy > elastic > hole > kids > pants > refashion > waist

Comments

35 Responses to “how to add adjustable elastic to kids’ pants
in 5 easy steps”

Amy
November 24th, 2009 @ 7:46 pm

I love you for this. No, really. You’ve just saved me the heartache of not having any pants that will stay on Heath’s little diapered butt. Looks like Joann’s will be on my list of places to stop tomorrow so I can start fixing up all of his pants. I’ll have to check a pair that already have this done for exact prime placement so I don’t get that weird bunching effect though.
Anna
November 24th, 2009 @ 9:03 pm

Thanks for doing this tutorial, I really can’t wait to try it out!
Tutorial: Add an adjustable elastic waistband to kids’ pants · Sewing @ CraftGossip
November 25th, 2009 @ 9:23 am

[...] Julie from Julie-k shows how you can add an adjustable waist to an existing pair of pants. Whether you’re adding the adjustable waist to a pair of jeans from a clearance rack, thrift store, or a hand-me-down, now you can get the adjustable waist pants without doing too much damage to your pocketbook! Go to the tutorial. [...]
Anne Weaver
November 25th, 2009 @ 9:26 am

Brilliant!! Do you know how much money we’ve spent over the last 6 years getting adjustable waist jeans for our skinny-minnie daughter? She’s currently a size 6 in length, size 4 in waist. With so much waist to take in, we have to be careful which ones we buy. (Some cheaper adjustable waist pants don’t have elastic that goes small enough.)

Anyway, I posted a link to your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-add-an-adjustable-elastic-waistband-to-kids-pants/2009/11/25/

–Anne
Rachel
November 25th, 2009 @ 2:59 pm

Ooh this is great Julie! Thanks so much, I’ll be linking.
Polly
November 25th, 2009 @ 7:23 pm

Awesome…I need to try this for my son’s pants. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Jen
November 25th, 2009 @ 7:36 pm

Thanks!!! I have a pair for shorts for my son that has the elastic in it and they are my favorite pair. So glad I can modify the pants that we already have now!
Charity
November 25th, 2009 @ 10:48 pm

This is an awesome trick!! All my kids are long and skinny, and it can be a real trial finding clothes to fit, especially secondhand. I will definitely remember this! Thanks!
Diane Conn
November 26th, 2009 @ 11:11 am

Thanks! I never even thought of adding my own elastic!
tara
November 26th, 2009 @ 8:05 pm

this is awesome! i’ve been looking for a tutorial on this!!
everything long enough for my 3 year old slides right down his body. can’t wait to fix that!
Rita
November 28th, 2009 @ 9:54 am

A million times thank you! This is brilliant. I have one snake hips boy and one who is so long waisted that he outgrows pants in the waist long before he’s ready for the next size up, lengthwise. You are saving my sanity!
Katrina
November 29th, 2009 @ 10:07 am

So great!!! I have a skinny mini too. Thankfully he is old enough now that they have slims (and sometimes he still needs a little sinch in for the first little bit!). Thanks so much for sharing! I think I will try this on swim trunks that don’t have a draw string.

Katrina
Emily
November 30th, 2009 @ 11:28 am

Duh! Why didn’t I think of that? What a GREAT idea! Thanks!
mary Magee
November 30th, 2009 @ 11:58 am

Thanks for this. I just took tucks in 3 pairs of my very skinny boy’s jeans – I think I will redo them with this idea. I know he will like it better! He is extremely sensitive to bumps and seams.
snarflemarfle
November 30th, 2009 @ 12:45 pm

I found this post through Craftzine. My son’s about to get 4 more pair of pants he can wear! Before we started potty training, he had some pants that were the right length, but were a bit too wide in the waist. But I just put a belt on him and all was fine. Now he’s potty trained and I haven’t gotten a belt that he can work yet. This little alteration looks incredibly easy and something I can do in an afternoon…as soon as I head to Hancock’s for some button elastic!
sally
November 30th, 2009 @ 1:47 pm

thank you! i don’t have time to figure this out on my own but need to use this on several of my sons pants. they have been waiting for a few weeks. just need the elastic & fray check!
Sara
November 30th, 2009 @ 7:04 pm

God bless you! My skinny, beanpole children and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
Sakhi
November 30th, 2009 @ 8:16 pm

thanks a bunch… my kiddo too have the same prob and not all pants are available with the elastic. Now she will not have problem.
Jen
November 30th, 2009 @ 10:22 pm

oh my gosh.. THANK YOU!!! I have a 7yr old.. whose legs fit an 8.. but her waist fits 3T. Very tall and very skinny. Plus she hates belts. Not to mention my littlest one who has the smallest hips I’ve ever seen on a 3 year old. And no butt to speak of.. Pants do not stay up on him either… so thank you thank you thank you!!
steph
December 1st, 2009 @ 11:28 am

I can’t believe I didn’t think of this! (but I’m so glad you did– thanks for sharing)

I’ve got a tall string bean of a boy who hates to wear belts. Thank you! Thank you!
Aimee Larsen
December 1st, 2009 @ 6:15 pm

Just this week I’d decided to try this. I need to try to find the button hole elastic and as soon as I do I’ll get busy. I’ll probably be linking too. THANK YOU THANK YOU
Krissy
December 2nd, 2009 @ 12:15 pm

Very smart. I’ve struggled with a tall daughter and clothing for years. Now with the second child, I know I will be using this little trick. Thanks for sharing.
supreme
December 2nd, 2009 @ 12:50 pm

This is pure genius!! My Little has a 2T waist and 3T legs! Now she can wear all the pants I have bought for her without using a spring clip to cinch the waist!

Thanks!!!
Cara
December 3rd, 2009 @ 3:45 pm

I recently wrote a whole blog post about the genius of adjustable waist pants. My son is very skinny for his age, and pants are such a pain! Thanks so much for posting this tutorial! I may go back and link to it in my post!
Rachel
December 7th, 2009 @ 2:18 am

I can not believe I did not think of doing this on my own. I have to buy pants like these for my leggy daughter but the buttons usually sit right on her hips which dig into her skin, if I make some I can move the buttons over a bit so its not right on the bone. Thank you thank you
Apple Picks | The Picky Apple
December 8th, 2009 @ 5:34 pm

[...] Remember our discussion about pants for skinny kids, and the miracle of adjustable waist pants? Julie K has a tutorial on how to add adjustable elastic to kids’ pants in 5 easy steps. [...]
Dreamyvinyl.com
December 10th, 2009 @ 10:06 am

wow, that is so neat! thank you thank you for sharing this tutorial! my son has the SAME problem as your daughter, his legs are 2 sizes longer than his waist is wide.
Holly Arjoonsingh
December 10th, 2009 @ 5:32 pm

You totally rock! My son & daughter is exactly like your daughter! They have tinie tiny waists and longer legs! Thanks for sharing!
chasmyn
December 28th, 2009 @ 5:20 pm

I love this! I’ve been wanting to do this for the exact same reason. 4-year-old son, 4T-5T height, 3T waist. Thank you so much for the tutorial!
Samantha
January 5th, 2010 @ 4:49 pm

I was looking for how to put elastic in the waitband like this and your post is the first i came across and thank you! I love this and you saved me some money.
Stephanie
January 11th, 2010 @ 7:18 pm

Thank you very much for posting this tutorial! My daughter has an 18 month-sized waist, but needs at least a 2T in length. Thankfully, now I can adjust her store-bought clothes!
Sarah H
January 25th, 2010 @ 9:22 am

Thank you! It’s a great idea. A friend told me to try this and I found your site while searching for more precise directions. I got all ready to head to JoAnn’s the morning, but ran into a problem when I pulled all her too big jeans out of the drawer. Not a single pair has just two stitch lines across the back. They all have three… one is right across the middle of the elastic. I would have to take out the entire “seam.” Do you know if it would still work? Would it ruin the integrity of the pants?

She’s not quite in 2T yet… maybe I just need to wait until she doesn’t have any elastic in her pants.
Mandy
February 26th, 2010 @ 10:07 am

I’m smacking myself in the head and thinking “why didn’t I think of that!” My daughter is exactly the same way and I am forever leaving super good deals on super cute clothes because I know they just won’t stay on her waist. Thank you, thank you, thank you for turning on a light bulb.
Melissa
February 26th, 2010 @ 2:04 pm

This.Is.Brilliant! And so simple, I cannot believe I have not thought of it already! Thank you so much for the tutorial.
I just found your blog through WR and I am looking forward to perusing your site.
Adrienne
March 1st, 2010 @ 11:22 am

Thank you sooooo much for sharing this. I have an 18 month old with LOOOOONNNGGG legs and finding him pants is a huge task. I often find myself attempting to dart the pants which is extremely time consuming and hard to get the right fit. Im heading out right now to buy a large supply of elastic and buttons. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU