How to replace a stretched out elastic waistband

Do you have a garment where the elastic has been worn and stretched out? In this tutorial, I will show you how you can replace and how to sew on exposed elastic waistband in a pair of knitted tights.
This technique works well both to replace stretched and worn out elastic in your old clothes, as well as when you want to skip the casing and sew on wide elastic to create an exposed elastic waistband when sewing garments like leggings, skirts & boxer shorts.

This tutorial is part of my Mend with Matti-series where I teach you how to repair and make your own alterations to clothes that you already have so that you can love and use your garments for longer. Check out the #mendwithmatti playlist here on Youtube.

I really didn’t think I was gonna do this repair at first since I owned them I since 2007, and as it’s now 2018 they have been well loved and worn for 11 years.
I do not know why but it’s really hard to find good quality warm tights here in North America. Maybe I have just looked in the wrong places? 🤷🏼‍♀️
I want to find some really good knitted tights in either wool or bamboo and somehow I haven’t been able to. If you know any places that stock warm knitted tights, either in Canada or the US ideally, let me know in a comment down below!

Let’s replace the stretched out waistband!

I started with removing the old elastic on my tights carefully using my trusty seam ripper.

Once removed the stretched out elastic I measured the circumference on my tights and took note to the measurements.
Then using the circumference of my tights I divided this measurement by four. I then pinned front & back seams and measured out the measurement in the middle between both and also marked these measurements with a pin on both sides.

I picked a soft wide elastic suitable for an exposed elastic waistband. When it is time to cut the elastic take your tights circumference and take off 1 inch
(or 2.54 cm). This is the measurement(excluding seam allowance) that you will cut from your elastic, and then also divide this measurement by four and make a note to the number. Then cut the elastic with a one-centimetre seam allowance.

Put the ends of the elastic together and sew together with a one-centimetre seam allowance. Make sure to fasten properly using backstitching.
Then I separated the seams by finger pressing before dividing the elastic into four different parts with the measurement I took note of earlier. I marked this by using pins as I already did with the tights.

Wrong sides together pin elastic and tights together only pinning where pins already are attached. Make sure also to pin the seam at the back.

Now it’s time to sew together the elastic and tights using a zig-zag stitch and a 1.5-centimetre seam allowance.
Pull the elastic and the tights to make sure that they are attached evenly without any gathers and folds. Then make sure to fasten your stitches.

Now it’s time to turn the elastic over to the right side. Once you turned the elastic over zig-zag the elastic in place as close to the edge as possible creating two visible zig-zag-stitches next to one another. Also here I pulled the elastic and the tights like I did when I attaching the previous seam.

Now it’s time to put the seam allowance in place on the back of the tights. Use a zig-zag-stitch and stitch the seams in place by going back and forth a few times. Repeat on the other side.

Et voilà! The elastic is now replaced and my tights finally fits again!

I really hope this inspired you to replace worn-out elastic in your tights, leggings, skirts, boxers or whatever.
If you do not have any worn-out exposed elastic maybe you could make something new using this technique? It is a really easy technique to use if you want to create a waistband in any garment you are making.

Want to save it for later? Pin it!

I would love if you left a comment below and let me know what other tutorials you want me to do. Is there anything else you want me to show how to mend, sew, knit or upcycle?