How do i sew an elastic waistband on a dress? ?

Measure the amount of elastic you're going to need. Add a bit for overlap and mark that length on the elastic. Use a safety pin to pin that elastic into a loop -- make sure you add a little for overlap so you can sew the ends together. Put on the dress inside out, and put the elastic on over the dress. Adjust the placement of the elastic on the dress until the dress is hanging like you want it too. Note that on the illustrated dress, it's going to turn into a shirt -- the elastic will pull up some of the length. Use chalk or pins to mark the exact line of elastic placement on the dress. Take off the elastic and dress. The chalk marks or pins will be slightly wobbly -- take a minute and correct them into a smooth curve. That's you're elastic placement line. Now you've got a couple of choices to make. One possibility is that you sew the elastic to the dress in an exposed application -- that means one side of the elastic will be against your skin or undergarments. The other choice is to ...  more