The Easy Way To Sew Elastic
Elastic isn’t easy – not when it comes to handling it on a sewing machine. Ask any person who is fairly new to sewing and they will all tell you that sewing on elastic is one of the toughest things to manage. The worst thing is that the rest of the garment you sew could have come out perfectly well but the elastic goes and botches up the whole appearance. After all that trouble, what you have is a garment with the elastic all bunched up on one side and somehow it never seems to turn out right.
What you need to do is to know more about not just the different kinds of elastic but also the different kinds of fabric. You need to know how both can come together with no mess. First of all, use the best elastic like Stretch and Sew, Ban-Rol or Stretch-Rite Sport Elastic because you’ll find them easier to use than the cheaper brands. You can get them from the store down the road or you can order them online. Then make sure that the machine needle you are using is a stretch needle and set the length to a longer stitch than normal. You need to do this whenever you sew on elastic.
Here’s what you do next. The strip of elastic you use should be around four, maybe five inches less than the opening that you are looking to elasticize. After all, the elastic is going to stretch to that length. The two ends of the elastic should be cut into triangular ones so that when they meet they do so on a diagonal. This is to avoid the elastic from overlapping because it then causes a rather ugly bump which could cause discomfort as well. Now you need to do zigzag stitching where the two ends meet and go over it a few times so it stays firm. Pull on it to make doubly sure that it stays firm. This is very important so the elastic does not come apart later.
Now mark the quarter points on the elastic as well as on the fabric and sew the elastic onto the fabric vertically at these points. It’s so easy – once you do this, it stays firmly in place and there is no chance of bunching. Now stretch the elastic and sew on the top edge from one quarter to the other. Keep going from quarter point to quarter point till it’s all done. You could use a zigzag stitch that is wide here and once the top is through, you could do the bottom edge of the elastic.
It’s really so simple – just follow these guidelines and your elastic will look like it’s been sewn on by a professional.