Fix Your Pants so They Lie Flat. . .In Five Minutes or Less

I have a problem when I go shopping for pants. Whenever I find skinny pants on super super sale (Read: the million $3.00 pairs of pants I bought at Rue 21 a few weeks ago), I have to buy them in several sizes larger than I am just so they fit on my hips. 

By the time I get to that point though. . .This happens:

Apparently, if your hips are big, your waist is supposed to be too. As a result of this clothing misfortune, I am constantly tugging my pants up, praying that they don't fall off! More expensive pants don't seem to have this problem, but. . .that fact is not going to make me spend more money!

Enter the solution:

Elastic. 

It doesn't have to be a particular size or type, just make sure it's a few inches long at least. I just used some elastic I found when cleaning out our "Hiking Closet." It is probably a crucial piece of elastic meant to save your life in some Bear Grylls way. Oh well. . .It's saving my life now, at least! (Don't tell my husband!)

Cut two slits in the inside part of the band around the waist. Make sure you cut the slits a few more inches apart than the length of your elastic.

You should be able to stick your finger into the slit. Notice the band around the waist is kind of a tube. Don't cut through to the outside of the band, or you will have a mess to fix.

Can you see how my finger is in the inside of the band, but the outside is not cut? Do that.

Stick a safety pin on one end of the elastic, and start feeding the pin through the band.

Once the elastic is almost completely through, secure the other end of it with a straight pin so that just a few millimeters of the elastic are sticking out the first slit.

When the safety pin makes it through to the other end, secure that end of the elastic with another straight pin. Can you see both slits with pins in them? It doesn't matter if your elastic gets all twisted up in there. It's probably not ever going to lie flat anyways, so don't sweat it.

Set your sewing machine on the widest zig zag you can get and sew forward and backward down the slit. Make sure the thread grabs not only the elastic, but also either side of the slit. If you don't get all three of these things, go over them again with the zig zag till you do, otherwise you risk a tear and/or losing your elastic into your pants (Read: Unnecessary Headache). It's okay if this stitching is messy. Skinny pants are meant for long shirts to be worn over them. 

Ta Da!

The. . .End. (Pun intended.)