Take out your jean's waistband tutorial...aka make your pants bigger!

 Oli the photo-bomber

I'm so excited about this tutorial! Everyone has a pair of pants in their closest that just doesn't' fit for whatever reason, and now, you can make them fit!! Just by easily seam ripping and adding a few pieces of extra matching fabric. Or you can make your pants 2-toned or unique by mixing in a unique fabric. Like some black leather or a fun pattern to add a completely new twist to yours pants. Now you don't have to throw out those pants that don't fit anymore or maybe you can make a pair you have just a little more comfortable. This is how you can do it!

Thanks to Hana from foggy dress for letting me use her pants, help with the kiddos, and the modeling for this tutorial!

wearing...my red peplum top (tutorial here) and thrifted levi jeans.

 Supplies:

tight pants

extra strong material (I used denim but you can use something patterned and fun)

thread that matches the topstitch on your jeans (I used a beige color)

Instructions:

1. Try on pants, and determine how many inches need to be added to the waistband. Do this by measuring the gap between your button and button hole.

2. Seam rip your side seams 2 to 4 inches down, and your waistband 4 to 5 inches apart.

3. Now cut the waistband, aligning it with your seam rippedside seam. 

4.Cut your extra piece of denim to match your measurements, then cut that piece in half. Give 1 inch seam allowance for each piece (that extra piece will look like sewn in piece on image 6).

5. Pin & sew the piece of denim, right side together (the top side of your jean with the top side of the denim piece), to one end of the gap in your waistband.

6. Take the other end of the same denim piece, and pin & sew to the other end of the cut waistband, joining the two ends together. 

7. Fold new piece back down in half, and align with how the waistband was before. Iron the new waistband edges under mimicking the old waistband, so they fold nice and flat aligning with the old waistband.

8. Add a square piece of fabric behind the V shaped opening between the newly opened side seams.

9. Pin under the newly opened side seams, so the raw edges are hidden, creating a "V", lining them up with the newly sewn waistband piece's seams.

 10. Now slide the newly inserted fabric and the pinned under side seams in between the opening of the waist band (try to get it to line up with the newly added waistband's seams). Pin closed.

11. Topstitch everything closed, including the top of the waistband, the edge of the waistband, and where the side seams are now. Mimic how the jeans topstitch. You can make the thread match the thread of the jeans, sometimes its a dark blue, sometimes its a yellow, but you don't have to.