how to fix your jeans waistband {no more jeans gap!}

So, as strange as it is to be talking about this online, I’ve got some junk in the trunk. I’m ok with that, but there is one problem: when I find jeans that fit well in the bum and thighs, they’re a little too big in the waist, which leads to another annoying problem…the waistband never lays flat against my back. Instead there’s that terrible gap, which looks bad AND leads to even more problems when I sit down. I’m a 38 year old mother of five. No one wants to see that. But luckily, there’s a super easy fix.

Before you get worried that I’m going to share a complicated process that includes unpicking the waistband and the belt loops to tailor your jeans, let me just say I don’t have time for that. Yes, that would be the best way to do it (and here’s an amazing tutorial if you aren’t as lazy as I am). But if you’re looking for an easier way you’ve come to the right place, and this place is going to use elastic to make your jeans fit better!

Yes, I know, we’re supposed to despise elastic waist jeans with the heat of a thousand suns because even though many of us actually are moms, we’d never be caught dead in mom jeans. But again, don’t worry – I’m not going to turn you into a relic of the 80’s. We’re just going to add enough elastic to tuck the waistband up snug against your back. When you’re wearing the jeans the waistband will still look pretty smooth, so no one will even know the elastic is there. See? I’m even showing you this embarrassing picture (which proves that my choice to never tuck shirts in is a good one) to prove it. This is after I slid some elastic into the waistband:

It’s super, super easy. And so worth the effort to know you won’t be flashing anyone when you sit down. All you need is 10 inches of so of 1 inch elastic and two colors of thread – one that matches your jeans, and one that matches the topstitching on your jeans. And a denim or heavyweight needle! Never try to sew on jeans without one unless you like breaking things.

Start by grabbing a seam ripper and unpicking the lower line of stitching on your jean’s waistband in the areas shown below:

Thread a safety pin through one end of your elastic…

…and thread the elastic up into the waistband and back down the other unpicked spot, like you see below. Try on your jeans and pull the elastic to tighten until the back of the jeans sit flat against you and the waist feels comfy (remember to sit down to make sure you aren’t pulling it too tight).

***Remember, the waistband will look quite gathered, but once the jeans are on the gathers will be much less noticeable***

Once the elastic is as tight as you’d like, sew a line up and down three or four times at each end to secure the elastic. Use the thread that matches your jeans for this. As you can see in the photo below, you can barely see the stitching, and it’s even less noticeable once the jeans are on.

Once the elastic is secure, you can trim off the excess of each side, switch out to the thread that matches the topstitching you unpicked, and sew back over that part you unpicked to close the waistband back up. If you look really closely you’ll probably be able to tell that your stitching is a little smaller than the rest of the topstitching, but no one else will every notice.

No more gap, and no more too much on display when I sit down. You (and everyone else who didn’t want to see that) are welcome 😉