Trousers are a universal item in men's and women's wardrobes. For the stronger sex, they have become the main item of clothing. But women have long appreciated and enjoy all the advantages and benefits of trousers. However, this familiar product sometimes unexpectedly fails. They match our figure too closely. And therefore they immediately point out that the owner of the pants forgot about a balanced diet and indulged in excess.
What to do if your trousers become tight? The answer is simple: they need to be expanded .
We have accumulated a lot of experience in such alterations. We will tell you what to do to ensure the required width for your favorite clothes.
How to stretch a denim skirt
If your favorite item shrinks after washing or simply becomes too small, the situation can be easily corrected. A denim skirt can be expanded at the hips by steaming or stretched when wet, and decorative elements can be sewn in.
Ferry
To increase the volume by 1 size using steam you need:
- Wet the skirt or do not dry it after washing.
- Place on ironing board.
- Iron thoroughly, stretching the sole of the iron in different directions. The evaporated moisture will soften the material and make it susceptible to expansion.
- Put on a skirt and wear until it completely fits your figure.
A steam generator is used in the same way. First you need to thoroughly treat the skirt with hot steam. After that, put it on and wear it out. Pay special attention to problem areas.
This option is suitable for stretching any denim clothing. For example, jackets or trousers.
By water
The wet method is used to stretch jeans:
- Wet your skirt.
- Place the model on a wide hanger. Provide maximum tension in problem areas. You can use a special screw mechanism for stretching.
- Wait until it dries.
- Put on the model and walk around in it. The skirt will follow the contour of the body.
To stretch a wet product, you can use the back of a chair or a board of the desired size.
You can also immediately put on denim clothes and wet it on yourself. This will give it your shape. The jacket and pants are prone to unwanted sagging at the elbows and knees.
Joining
If stretching the material does not help, sew in a decorative element. Thick ribbons, stripes or zippers are suitable for this.
You can request a service from a studio or do it yourself. To do this you will need 2 ribbons, the length of which is no less than the length of the skirt. The work flow is as follows:
- Carefully open the side seam.
- Undo the belt and cut where the tape is sewn in.
- Sew the ribbon to both sides of the skirt on each side, starting at the waistband and ending at the bottom. Fold the edges at the top and hem.
- Finish edges and iron.
You can also sew in decorative zippers or thick lace. The model will fit perfectly. You need to adjust the width by the size of the tape. Try to choose an insert so that it looks organic.
Advice! To prevent your denim item from shrinking, follow the recommendations on the label. Wash at temperatures up to 40 degrees and do not use the drying function.
Extend the clasp
This option will be especially useful for pregnant women for whom a tight button presses into the stomach. His idea is to extend a regular fastener with an elastic band. To do this, you should buy 5-10 cm of special belt tape with holes. On one side of this cut you need to sew a button of the required size, and then attach the device as in the photo.
The only disadvantage of this method is that you have to hide the elastic under long clothes.
How to widen trousers at the waist
You can increase the waist size of skinny denim pants using a wet method. Moisten the problem area with water and stretch as much as possible.
In addition, you can try another effective method:
- Sew a button near the fastening loop.
- Tie the buttons together as closely as possible and wear the jeans for a while.
- When you can fasten your pants in the usual way, the button with the elastic band will need to be removed.
- Walk around in your trousers a little more to consolidate the results.
Now you can safely wear trousers when going out. The effect of stretching may be temporary. After washing, the pants will return to their original shape. Then a more radical method is suitable - sewing an insert.
Spray and stretch
Peculiarities. The method is relevant if there is no desire to take a bath in clothes or the room is cold for such a procedure. Do not use too hot water, as the product may fade or shrink. We write down step-by-step instructions.
What we do
- Use a spray bottle to spray warm water on the part of the pants that needs to be stretched until it is completely wet.
- Lay out the product on the floor.
- We begin to pull the fabric in the place we are unhappy with.
- After the procedure, leave to dry.
What you need to know
- You can easily stretch jeans in the waistband and buttocks if you pull out the seam that runs from the back to the front of the product.
- If you need to increase the length, then we process the area from the knee to the bottom.
- We do not increase the size of heavily torn or worn trousers in this way.
- Before wetting, we measure the place that we will pull. Afterwards we will be able to understand whether there is a result.
- Stretching the belt means unfastening the buttons and zipper.
- We do not pull on pockets or accessories.
- If the size has not changed, you can repeat the procedure.
Master class on the topic: How to increase the waistband on jeans with your own hands
You can sew a rectangle, a wedge of knitwear into the waistband of your trousers, or even replace the belt with an elastic band, a scarf, or any other element.
You can insert a rectangular fragment like this:
- Undo the loop.
- Cut the belt under the loop.
- Sew in our rectangle as discreetly as possible.
- Sew the loop in place.
Advice! The insert will look more natural if it is cut from the same material. For work, it is better to use threads that match those that are already on the seams.
Wedges must be cut from elastic stretch fabric. They can be placed along the side seams of the waistband. This is done like this:
- Mark a side seam line on both sides of the waistband.
- Carefully steam out the belt in these places.
- Cut according to the markings.
- We baste the insert in the right place.
- We measure the model.
- We sew and process the seam.
- Sew the belt back to its original place.
For wedge-shaped inserts, any materials that match in color and texture are suitable. Women's models can be decorated with thick lace or bright colored patches.
As a last resort, we completely remove the belt and attach the original silk scarf in its place, placing the ties to the zipper. A good option would be knitted elastic with laces.
Repair using a spider web
Is it possible to increase the size of a product using a web? Can be expanded by the amount of allowance on the sides.
Cobweb is a special material consisting of thin adhesive fibers.
How to glue cobwebs to fabric?
- First, open the seams on both sides of the product and smooth it with an iron.
- Measure out the required amount of web. Add 1cm on both sides for overlap.
- From the inside out, apply the mesh so that the edges of the seams of the product are located close to each other, leaving no gaps.
- Using a heated iron, iron over the paper base, then remove it.
- Place the other side on top to cover the adhesive base by 1–2 mm.
- Iron the surface to ensure good adhesion. You can put gauze on top and iron through the gauze.
If the seam stands out, you can sew on stripes.
Such products must be washed by hand and not often, otherwise the cobwebs will come off.
How to sew stripes into jeans
The original finishing element will help out if you need to increase your trousers by 2 sizes. For stripes, it is customary to use bright ribbons that run along the entire length of the side seam.
Choose a tape that will harmoniously complement the model and get to work:
- Remove side seams.
- Open the waistband at the sides and cut along the seam line.
- Carefully baste the tape.
- Try on the model.
- Remove and stitch.
- Finish the cut lines.
- Put the belt back in place.
- Iron the stitch lines.
Women's trousers can be beautifully decorated with stripes with lurex rhinestones or lace.
Increasing trousers size
If a situation arises when the trousers need to be widened not only in a certain area, but their size needs to be increased in general, this can be done with the presence of a so-called reserve, or allowance. It is important to understand that using this method you can increase your trousers by only one adjacent size (from 48 to 50, for example). For a larger increase, you will need to reshape the entire product. So, how to make pants a size larger:
On classic-fit trousers with a grosgrain, you need to get to the inner seam. To do this, the tape is ripped open, and underneath there is a seam that passes from the main fabric to the waist part.
- Measure out the portion of the allowance needed to increase the size and make a mark with chalk.
- From the mark, lay a new seam going to the existing one.
- After this, you can rip out the old seam. The place where the old seam was must be completely cleared of threads and ironed.
- All that remains is to sew part of the inner bodice in place. Thus, the waist part of the trousers will become one size wider.
To increase the size of trousers at the hips or in the groin area, sew in panels or gussets as described above.
Expander
To adjust the waist area, you can use a special device “Belt stretcher”. Before using it, jeans are wetted from the outside and inside. The device is placed in the waist area and fixed. The width of the device must be gradually increased. Stretch denim lends itself well to such operations.
The elasticity of denim is not limitless. Most stretchy jeans can only go up a few sizes. If the fabric does not give way, do not make sudden movements, because this will not help. You can give away small jeans to someone, sell them, go on a diet and strive for the size that fits these jeans, or just buy yourself new ones.
Good jeans are an integral part of the wardrobe of any modern person. Comfortable and beautiful, they are simply irreplaceable in a series of everyday life and everyday tasks, be it peeling potatoes for lunch or shopping. And if this thing is also loved, then you will not want to part with it under any circumstances.
If your favorite jeans suddenly shrink, or you suddenly gain weight, you need to try stretching them. Of course, success depends on many factors: the fabric from which they are sewn, the method of exposure, etc. Here are some effective tips on how to stretch your jeans yourself.
Increasing volume with elastic fabric or wide elastic
When everything possible has been ripped apart and placed, but the width of the trousers is not satisfactory, we make an insert into the belt. We increase the volume with an elastic band.
- We rip the side seams to the desired length.
- We remove the zipper in front and also remove the belt.
- We select the front and back insert to the width of the elastic, and sew it with the elastic.
- Baste instead of a belt.
- We sew it on a machine and process the cuts with an overlocker.
- To make the belt look aesthetically pleasing, we add additional stitches along the seams.
Such a transformation is only possible on a thin figure. Fat ladies can do a different manipulation.
Pull-pull
How to lengthen jeans if they suddenly become short? This is especially true if there are children in the family.
Rinse your jeans in cold water and remove them from the machine before drying. Take a few strong threads or laces and thread them all the way around your waist, joining them together and tightening them. Tie a knot and secure them with a belt so that you can easily pull them back by the legs. Every hour, until completely dry, pull them down as far as you can.
It is better to carry out all of the above stretching actions at least a day before the planned exit. After all, denim takes a long time to dry.
Steaming
This method is easier and more accessible than the previous one. You will need an iron, jeans and a little time. Turn on the device, set the steam mode and iron the jeans. When exposed to hot air, the product will expand slightly. To consolidate the result, you need to walk in warm jeans for a few minutes. This way the product will stretch according to the parameters of your figure. You can alternately stretch the wet product and spray it with steam or iron it.
The method is not very effective if you need to stretch jeans to length. However, you can try to stretch them manually after ironing. The hot trouser legs of the product are stretched along the internal and external seams. We repeat the procedure for several minutes.
A visit to the sauna will also add a few necessary centimeters to the product. The procedure will look quite strange to others, but in fact it is effective. The hot steam around will act on the item like an iron, warming and stretching it to fit the shape of the body.
You can organize a sauna at home: fill the bath with very hot water and create a large amount of steam. You need to put on jeans and walk around the room for a few minutes. You can stop when you feel freedom between your body and your jeans. To increase the effectiveness of the procedure, it is recommended to wear warm tights or long johns under jeans.
Let's start water procedures
If neither physical exercises nor an iron help, then it’s time to use water. Use a spray bottle to spray water into which you can add fabric softener. You only need to wet the top of your trousers. Soon this part will soften and you can put them on easily. Now you can dance a little so that the jeans finally take the desired shape. Just be careful! After all, if the denim is too thin, you can easily tear the wet fabric.
Are your jeans not meeting at the waist? Pull the belt and hold until the fabric dries. You can use a regular plastic water bottle, tucking it between your belt and waist. Do not remove the bottle until the fabric is dry. Denim will dry out and “remember” the required sizes. The method is especially good for cotton jeans or those with the addition of elastane. The same cannot be said about synthetics, because stretching them is always quite difficult.
Soaking
This method is no longer as easy as the previous ones, because it requires the direct participation of the owner of the item. We fill the bath with warm water. We put on jeans. We plunge into the filled bath in jeans. The method is not suitable only in cases where the product cannot be worn due to its too small size. You can add foam to the bath, which will help soften the item. Do not use detergents as they may cause skin irritation. You need to sit in this position for about 15 minutes. During this time, the product will stretch a little and become looser. Next, lightly stretch the fabric of the item for another 10 minutes.
To enhance the stretching effect, as well as to avoid staining the body, you can apply a nourishing cream (not oil-based) to your legs before the procedure.
We drain the water from the bath, but do not get out of it. The fabric should drain a little and dry. Also, the dye may stain the floor or rug, so wait a little longer. Next, we transfer to a pre-prepared oilcloth or towel. We do physical exercises for our legs to stretch our jeans even better. We remain on the oilcloth or towel until the product is completely or partially dry to maintain the desired size and shape. It is prohibited to dry items using artificial heat sources. Drying in the dryer also threatens the item with shrinking again. Therefore, if it is not difficult, you need to wait for it to dry completely in an open space without removing them from yourself. You can dry the item a little with a towel, but nothing more.
It is not recommended to initially buy jeans that are too small for you in order to later stretch them according to your parameters. For a better fit or natural silhouette. In order to, in principle, stretch a thing and maintain its presentation, you need to be able to put it on. Localized stretching can cause the item to warp incorrectly and not look as good as before.
If you need to stretch your jeans a little, you can simply wash them by hand several times in a row. The item will retain the desired shape and increase by one or two sizes.
