OK, so I have a couple pairs of pants for my sons to wear to a wedding on Saturday. They are elastic waistbands and too big. They were both part of an outfit that included shirt, vest, tie...and those things all fit...but the pants are both too big in the waist and too long. OK, got the hemming down pretty good, but the waistbands are giving me fits. They are elastic, as I said, and they are not the kind where the elastic is enclosed in a casing and just sewn around...but rather 3 or 4 stitches across the entire width of the elastic. Besides taking it to a tailor, is there any option rather than taking out all of those stitches, clipping the elastic a bit and re-sewing it in to make it smaller? It's too bulky if I just pull it in on the sides and sew like you maybe would try with just a fabric waistband. Any expertise (or shortcut suggestions!) would be appreciated.
i've got some length to take up in the crotch (if possible) of one of them (wasn't top priority but while i'm at it). so maybe i'll flip the waistband inward and resew it, have him wear an undershirt then the dress shirt, thermal underwear, and then any extra that's still left a combo of duct tape and safety pins...oh, and chewing gum.
i would just fold in the side seams and loosely tack them so they can always be easily let out again when they grow into them.
What about some velcro?? I've got a son who is very thin, and I have had to get imaginative on occasion myself.
the waistband is WAY bulkier than i would've figured until i started trying to take it in on the sides. however, got a suggestion from a coworker today to distribute that bulk between all the seams available (front, back, sides) so that it wouldn't be so bad. and yeah, it would be nice to be able to have them wear them later...or little brother.
I'd make two holes in top backside of the waist, pull some thin elastic through and sew it together to fit his waist. Should take about ten minutes. Then when he grows in the waist you can take it out. They have both black and white at Walmart. Keep the stuff around for times like these. Sherry
i just saw this but i fixed them last night...they are NOT PRETTY on the inside, but don't have to be. my husband actually ended up having the same basic idea. but i took a piece of elastic each that fit the boys' actual waists and then made it fit into the inside of the pants at the waistband area...spreading out the excess waistband around it evenly...pinned, tacked with black thread all the way around. took about 15 minutes per pair of pants...not too bad. why he didn't have this idea 2 days ago, i'm not sure, but brilliance takes time, i guess. thanks, guys! now wish me luck on getting my 4-year-old to actually walk down the aisle as the ring-bearer! i'm hoping my bribe of darth vader shoes that light up...with the first time he gets to wear them being actually down the aisle...will work. ps, my mom and sister don't know about this little scheme of mine yet...shhhhhh!!!!
omg, if i could get him to do that, that would be awesome... my family is super-conservative, so i'm really hoping for a little bit of shock and awe when vader shows up.
UPDATE--rehearsal was great. perfectly proper little ringbearer. did he walk down the aisle for the actual ceremony? nope. slept through the entire ceremony. 2:00 ceremony = naptime for a 4-year-old. but everyone did love his shoes. apparently the groom is a big star wars fan. oh, and the waistbands for my other 2 boys' pants...worked great!
First time sharing a picture with you guys, so hopefully this works! My little ringbearer in action...DURING the wedding.
I've officiated at some weddings where this would have been a Godsend to have happen. And, it's really not the little's ones fault. They're bored, wearing clothes that they don;t normally wear, and -for most of them- expected to behave in ways they have never had. Plus, having to hold the hand of a ..gasp..icky girl....and then have everyone staring at me. As long as it's not a meltdown that is allowed to overtake the wedding, I figure I'm having a good day.
