Quick jeans alteration

Thought I'd share an alteration I often make to my jeans.
My figure is a bit thick around the middle; combine that with
short-waisted, and jeans always stop just shy of a good fit, being a
bit snug on the high hip and tight through the waist. Add a nice lunch,
and breathing becomes problematic.
One solution is to add a bit of elastic to the back waist and just
below the waist.
Method: remove the back belt loop, release the the jean waistband
from the jeans,a good three or four inches either side of the center
back seam, then cut the band down the middle. Open the back flat-felled
seam a good 2 to 3 inches down. (Usually done by pulling on the
underside lock stitch.) I use a safety razor on all these steps, as it
only takes a minute. Don't do this unless you have a deft hand, and
angle the blade towards the belt loop itself, not the jean fabric.
Now finish--overcast-- the edges of the cut waistband. Remove any
topstitching first, so you get a flat overedge. Overcast, zig-zag, or
serge to prevent fraying, or, if you don't mind the bulk, you can turn
under a scant 1/4 inch of each end, then topstitch and/or steam press
in prep for the next step.
For the insert on dark colored jeans, I use black elastic; I try for
a combo width, the top piece being the same width as the jeans waist
(usually-but not always- one and one-half inches wide.), the bottom
piece (or additional pieces, as needed) as wide an elastic as I can
readily find. Right now, I am using 2" wide elastic, because that is
what the fabric shop stocked.
I cut two to three pieces, butt the sides together, and zig-zag
stitch, making one very wide insert. The top piece of elastic should be
at least 1/2 inch longer, on each end, than the bottom piece, sort of a
modified T effect, wider at the top, each successive piece cut narrower
to accommodate the 'Vee' insert you are creating.
After zig-zagging the elastic, I then serge the elastic edges. Next,
insert the longer raw elastic ends into the jean waist. Pin in place.
(readjust later)
Adjust the opened center back seam over the lower part of the
elastic, so that you are making a 'Vee' of the back seam. Keep the left
side with the topstitched seam as intact as possible, but you may find
that you have to turn the seam under a bit more near the top, to get
the seam to align with the end of the waistband. You want a nice,
smooth finished look, so do try to keep edges/seams as a continuous
visual line.
For the right-hand seam, after you determine the length of the
opening, you'll have to clip the seam to make it flip towards the
underside, and lay properly. You will want to flip the raw edge under,
so that it looks the same as the left side--nice and finished, no raw
edges showing. To do this, try to clip as far to the low end of the
open seam as possible, and almost to--but not through-the fold. Again,
you won't be able to turn it to the underside unless you clip it.
Pin all seams in place on the elastic,insert the elastic into the
waistband on the underside, then top-stitch the seams into a 'Vee" on
the elastic.
The last steps a stitching the waistband back onto the jeans, and
re-attaching the belt loop.
Here I will note that if an insert wider than approx 1&1/2 to 2
inches is needed, it is possible to put the inserts at the jean sides
instead of at center back.
Cea

wrote:
Thought I'd share an alteration I often make to my jeans.
My figure is a bit thick around the middle; combine that with
short-waisted, and jeans always stop just shy of a good fit,
being a bit snug on the high hip and tight through the waist.
Add a nice lunch, and breathing becomes problematic.

Cea, I feel your pain!

If your hip-to-waist ratio is that far off, how about looking for
men's jeans? I just crunched some numbers: men's waist-hip sizing
ratio falls between 1:29 and 1:11 while misses'-women's range is 1:41
to 1:24 (with small sizes having larger and plus sizes having smaller
ratios), so for example a "women's" hip size 44" would have a waist
size 35", while a man's hip size 44" would have a waist of 37".
That's an extra 2" in the waist without having to alter them.

The difference is even greater in "misses" sizing: hip size 44" has a
waist of 34". Of course, you may not be able to find "stylin' " jeans
in the men's section.... :-(

Now there may be other reasons women would not want to wear men's
jeans...I don't know if the difference in rise, leg length, etc. would
be too much to make it worthwhile.

--
Beverly
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BEI Design Apr 18, 6:27 pm wrote:
If your to-waist ratio is that far off, how about looking for
men's jeans? I just crunched some numbers: men's waist-hip sizing
ratio falls between 1:29 and 1:11 while misses'-women's range is 1:41
to 1:24 (with small sizes having larger and plus sizes having smaller
ratios), so for example a "women's" hip size 44" would have a waist
size 35", while a man's hip size 44" would have a waist of 37".
That's an extra 2" in the waist without having to alter them.
The difference is even greater in "misses" sizing: hip size 44" has a
waist of 34". Of course, you may not be able to find "stylin' " jeans
in the men's section.... :-(
Now there may be other reasons women would not want to wear men's
jeans...I don't know if the difference in rise, leg length, etc. would
be too much to make it worthwhile.
Beverly
---
Bev, I have tried men's jeans. No better, still need alterations.
Men's jeans just don't accommodate the feminine curves, most fellas
being no-hip types. I refuse to try on pants from the Portly men's
department--even though I'm a realist, I still need a few illusions.
Then there's styling, which you mentioned; it's non-existant.
The above description sounds more complicated than it is. It's an
alteration which I have also done for clients, and the difference in
comfort level is astounding. Like most written instructions, it takes
longer to figure out than to actually do.
Must take time to look at your latest link to your pics. I always
enjoy seing your work, the pics are such good quality.
Cea

wrote in message
oups.com...

Bev, I have tried men's jeans. No better, still need alterations.
Men's jeans just don't accommodate the feminine curves, most fellas
being no-hip types. I refuse to try on pants from the Portly men's
department--even though I'm a realist, I still need a few illusions.
Then there's styling, which you mentioned; it's non-existant.
The above description sounds more complicated than it is. It's an
alteration which I have also done for clients, and the difference in
comfort level is astounding. Like most written instructions, it
takes
longer to figure out than to actually do.
Must take time to look at your latest link to your pics. I always
enjoy seing your work, the pics are such good quality.
Cea

I think your alteration scheme is wonderful, I just wondered if men's
jeans would allow you a more comfortable fit without all that
additional work. ;-\

I haven't posted my links recently, so have a look (you have probably
seen most of the first two, nothing new has been added on those):

Wedding:
http://home.comcast.net/~ickesbe/wsb...ome.html-.html
Sewing:
http://home.comcast.net/~beidesign/w...ome.html-.html
More sewing:
http://home.comcast.net/~beidesigns/wsb/index.html
Birds:
http://home.comcast.net/~bei.designs

--
Beverly
delete nospam and .invalid to reply

wrote:

Thought I'd share an alteration I often make to my jeans.
(snip)

What a good idea! The most comfortable slack I ever bought were made
with that type of insert at each side seam.

--
Kathy - help for new users at http://www.aptalaska.net/~kmorgan/
Good Net Keeping Seal of Approval at http://www.gnksa.org/
OE-quotefix can fix OE:
http://home.in.tum.de/~jain/software/oe-quotefix/