Learn how to sew cuffs and waistband onto trousers and sweat tops

In our second sewing class we want to show you how to sew cuffs and waistbands in jersey and sweat or fleece type fabrics. It is an easy step to do, but may seem  little complicated if it’s your first time. Many of the patterns that you can find in our collection are made using elastic jersey fabrics. Which are finished off with cuffs and waistbands. Sweat tops and trousers are the protagonists of today’s class.

You have the option of using cuff fabric or the same fabric which the garment is made from. Jersey fabric is more elastic than sweat or fleece type fabrics. Our patterns come with step by step instructions and the suitable measurements for the cuffs, waistbands and elastic. We are going to show you how to correctly sew the pieces once they have been cut out. You do not need an overlock machine, a flat lock sewing machine will serve the purpose.

Sewing cuffs and waistband

Requirements:

• Sewing machine
• Sweat/jersey fabric
• Yarn in the same colour as the fabric
• Pins
• Yarn cutter
• Video tutorial

Support yourself with our video tutorial to better understand each of the steps.

 

The first step for both the waistband and the cuffs is to sew the short sides of each piece together with the right sides of the fabric facing each other. Next, open the seam out using your hands and fold in half with the wrong sides of the fabric facing together. Now the cuffs and waistband are completed.

Waistband

For the trouser waistband, fold in half so that the folded seam is at one edge. And mark this and the opposite edge with a pin of tailor’s chalk. Each one of these markings (pin or tailor’s chalk) will be matched to the seams at the upper part of the trousers. With the right sides of the fabric facing together.

Position the waistband on the outside of the trousers and pin the two seams in place. Gently ease the rest of the waistband to match the trouser waist width pinning in place whilst going along. If necessary, divide both the waistband and upper trouser edge into four parts to make it easier to pin. If you find this step difficult to manage only using the pins, you can baste the pieces together instead.

Sew using a straight stitch and carefully pull the fabric when necessary so that both layers stay flat and don’t form any tucks or small pleats. Leave a gap of approximately 1 1/8” (3 cm) unsewn at the back so that the elastic can be threaded through the waistband. Fasten off the loose ends of yarn at both sides of this opening.

Use a safety pin to thread the elastic, with the corresponding length as indicated on the pattern, through the waistband. Once it is threaded through, pull both ends out through the opening so they can be sewn together on the machine using a zigzag stitch. Push the elastic back into the waistband casing and sew the opening shut using a straight stitch. Position the elastic correctly inside the waistband and you’ve finished.

Cuffs

For the trouser and sweat top cuffs, the process is the same except that the pieces are smaller. In these cases, sometimes it’s not even necessary to use elastic because the actual fabric itself is elastic enough.

With this simple sewing technique you can easily sew any of these beautiful patterns from our new Autumn Winter 2018/2019 Katia Fabrics Collection.

We leave you with a few ideas from the Rebels collection, like a sweat top with hood, dungarees, a baby set plus a sleeping bag with a matching nappy holder. The possibilities are infinite with jersey and sweat, or fleece, fabrics.

Katia Fabrics 

You will find everything you need to make these projects in Katia Shops and on our online shop Katia Fabrics.