Sew attached waistband on trousers #B03

1. This is required:

The basis is the prepared trousers, on which the slit and pockets have already been worked in and the seat seam and leg seams have been closed.

Pattern pieces made from shell fabric:

• Waistband (B)- 2x
• Belt loop (GS) – 1x

Pattern pieces from interlining:

• Waistband (EB) – 2x 2 pairs

Paper pattern pieces:

• Waistband (B) for the position of the belt loops
• Buttonhole template (P-BK)
• Belt loop template (P-GS)

Tools and aids:

• Pins and/or clips
• Hand shears
• Chalk or marker pen
• Ruler
• Needle and thread for sewing on and tacking the button if necessary

I will replace the inner waistband strip here in the instructions and make it from the same material as my pocket bags rather than the outer fabric. This is a nice detail and you can better distinguish between the inside and outside of the waistband. If you are working with a pattern that is intended for elastic material, the replaced inner waistband strip must also have the corresponding stretch properties.

If you have followed the fitting instructions, you will already have the waistband prefabricated, as you can see here.

If you have chosen a trouser style that has pleats or darts at the waistband edge, these must be placed or sewn down before the waistband is attached.

2. Prepare the belt loops

Before sewing on the waistband, I prepare the belt loops. I have already finished one long side of the strip with the overlocker. I lay the strip down so that the wrong side of the fabric is visible. Fold over the long edges by 1 cm. I fold the layers so that the open cut edge is on the inside. I then topstitch the strip from the outside lengthwise once through the middle.

Now cut six belt loops from the long strip. I use the small template for the belt loop to mark the appropriate cutting length.

I now pin the strips to the pants, right sides facing. For the positioning, I place the pattern of the waistband at the center front and transfer the positions of the belt loops to the trousers.

You can pin the belt loops in place or secure them inside the top seam allowance with a few stitches to prevent them from slipping.

I proceed in the same way with the distances from the center back and side seam to the belt loop. Here you can give free rein to your creativity. For example, attach only one belt loop to the center back and sew it on at an angle.

3. Prepare the waistband

If you have followed the instructions“Preparing to try on the trousers #F02“, you can continue here immediately. If you have skipped the fitting, simply follow these instructions.

Before the waistband can be attached, I prepare it. First I iron the interlining. If you are using a sturdy fabric, it is not absolutely necessary to fix the inner waistband side as well. However, this is a matter of taste and depends on whether you prefer the waistband to be stable or softer.

I now lay the strips right sides together and pin them together at the top edge.

Since this seam is no longer unraveled, I sew together the top edge at 1 cm seam width with a normal stitch size. I start and end approx. 1.5 cm before the long edges. The beginning and end are not interlocked, as a short piece may have to be cut open again later, depending on how the corners are worked.

Tip

I now cut the seam allowance into the shaped waistband at intervals of a few centimeters so that it does not stretch at the top edge. So that the incisions do not stand out so much on the outside, it makes sense to offset them slightly in the two layers.

You can skip this step if you have opted for a straight waistband.

Next, I press the seam allowances open at the top edge of the waistband.

Now is a good opportunity to check whether the waistband length still matches the pattern. It could be that it has been altered by sewing or ironing. I also check whether the seam in the front area of the shaped waistband, where the fabric lies in the diagonal grain, is still stretchy.

I put the waistband over my pants and decide which open side goes on the right trouser front with the fly underneath and which goes on the left. The front notch on the lower edge of the waistband indicates the position of the center front on both sides. On the right front, the waistband strip fits exactly from the center front to 1 cm above the bottom of the slit.

You can shorten the strip on the left side (with the slit stitching). If you place the strip with the clip at the center front, there are still a few centimeters of fabric left over. However, only 1 cm is needed for the seam allowance from the notch. The fabric can therefore be cut off there.

ATTENTION

You do not need to cut it off if you would like to have a waistband extension at the overlap (see pictures below) or if you have noticed that the waistband is too tight when trying on the pants. If the waistband is too tight, you will have to move the snap at the bottom edge:

For example, if the waistband is 4 cm too tight and you have therefore extended the side seams upwards by 2 cm, move the markings on the waistband to the left by the following amounts:

• the nick for the right side seam by 1 cm
• the center back by 2 cm
• the left side seam by 3 cm
• the left front center by 4 cm

I am working the version here where the waistband edge ends with the center front, so mark 1 cm seam allowance from the center front and cut away the remaining fabric there.

This is what it looks like after I have shortened the waistband to the right length.

4. Shorten the front waistband edges/corners

Now the waistband strips can also be shortened at the front and at the upper corners. I do this as follows:

The corners can be rounded or slanted. I turn the waistband again so that I can see the wrong side of the fabric or interfacing. Later, I start sewing at the top edge in the existing seam. Therefore, I mark the front (short) edge so that it faces the right working side; the top edge is on top.

For the square version, I draw 1 cm parallel to the front edge and 1 cm away from the bottom edge. I also trace the course of the upper seam with a 1 cm edge distance.

If I want to bevel or round the corner, I also draw the corresponding shape on the top corner. You can get creative again and, for example, use a press stud or a coin as a template to draw a curve.

If you are working the waistband extension on the left overlap, mark the center front at the bottom edge on the notch and sew up to this point. Here, too, you can round off the corners, bevel them or leave them straight. In this case, I mark a distance of 9 mm on the bottom edge.

Before I start sewing the corner, I cut open up to 1.5 cm before the short edge if necessary.

For the rounded or beveled corner, I start directly at the seam line of the top edge and topstitch along the marking.

Tip

To make it easier to turn and shape the straight corner later, I sew in a thread at the corner point. I do this as follows: Before I sew the last stitch before the corner, I stop and place an approx. 15 cm long “turning thread” between the layers of fabric. The thread is placed right up to the lowered needle. Then I sew a stitch over this thread, lower the needle again and lift the presser foot.

Now I place both thread ends between the waistband strips and continue sewing.

This is what the finished waistband corner looks like.

For the version with waistband extension, I sew the bottom corner in the same way as the top corner.

When I sew towards the bottom corner, I stretch the bottom inner waistband layer so that it peeks out 1-2 mm at the bottom edge. I use this to push some width into the outer waistband so that later, after turning, the inside has a little less length and is not visible from the outside.

I then sew the lower section to the marking on the center front with a 10 mm gap to the protruding edge and lock it there.

I clip the seam allowance at the center front until just before the last stitch.

I now cut back the seam allowance at the two upper corners at an angle 3 mm from the seam.

I also cut the front and top seam allowance of the inner waistband back to approx. half the width so that the layers are stepped after turning and therefore lie slightly flatter.

Here you can see an example variant with a straight corner at the top step and a rounded corner at the bottom step.

And this is what the version with a waistband extension on the overlap and a straight corner on the underlap looks like.

5. Topstitch the upper edge of the waistband on the inside

If I want to topstitch the top edge of my waistband through and through later, this step can be omitted. Otherwise, I topstitch down the seam on the inside waistband so that it lays well after turning. I start and finish as far away from the corners as I can easily reach.

6. Turn the waistband edge

Then I turn the waistband edge.

With the help of the sewn-in turning threads, I can shape the straight corners nicely. I leave these in the sewing material until my waistband is sewn on.

I iron the corners and waistband flat from the inside.

Here you can see two waistband strips with different corner variations, above the overlap side with waistband extension.

7. Design of the waistband

There are various options for attaching the waistband strip, depending on the design and fabric thickness. A few thoughts are therefore necessary in advance.

Here you can see various design examples for the design of the waistband. If you want to finish the waistband without topstitching at the inseam, first topstitch the outer waistband strip to the outside of the pants. You can also proceed in the same way with the versions that are topstitched at the inseam. You can also sew the inner waistband strip to the inside of the trousers first and stitch the outer waistband strip to the outside. I show this processing variant in the instructions for the jeans waistband.

Here I explain how to proceed if you do not want to have a visible topstitch on the waistband, as in variant 1.

8. Lower edge of the inner waistband

Before I sew on the waistband, I think about how I will finish the raw edge of the inner waistband.

The cut edge can be processed open-edged. To do this, you should finish them beforehand, e.g. with an overlock seam or binding tape (inside version 2).

I will press the inside of the waistband 8 mm wide so that I can catch the folded edge when topstitching through from the outside. (inside variant 1)

9. Sew on waistband

Now I pin the waistband with the outside right sides together on the waistband edge of the pants all the way around.

I make sure that the waistband markings for the center front and center back as well as the side seams match the corresponding areas of the pants exactly.

Then I topstitch the waistband with a 10 mm seam width. I make sure that the belt loops point straight down. If you have only pinned the loops in place, carefully topstitch over the pins that have been pinned lengthwise.

At this point, you can turn the waistband edge again to fix the lower cut edge of the inner waistband in the front seam. I find it easier this way if you fold the front edge over afterwards.

10. Stitch down the inside waistband

After the outer waistband is sewn on, I first press the inseam upwards into the waistband.

Depending on the thickness of the fabric, it may be helpful to place a piece of fleece between the layers of fabric on the left side of the waistband in the area where the buttonhole will later be worked in and pin it in place from the outside.

It also helps to step down the layers a little in this area, i.e. to cut them slightly offset to flatten the edge.

This will even out the difference in height between the seam allowances and make the buttonhole easier to sew later.

Here you can see how I place the seam allowance of the pants in front of the front edge and fold the bottom edge of the inner waistband over it.

So that I can position the edge exactly 2 mm below the top seam, I like to use a needle and thread and baste the inner waistband first. After topstitching, I can remove this auxiliary thread again.

You can also work with pins instead of the basting thread. These are then inserted from the outside.

Now I topstitch the inner waistband from the outside through the waistband seam. I chose this version because I wanted the quilting to be as invisible as possible. That’s why I don’t topstitch on the waistband, but just below it in the “seam shadow”.

Now I iron the waistband flat again.

11. Sew the buttonhole into the waistband

The buttonhole (2 buttonholes for the wide waistband version) is now worked into the left side of the waistband. I transfer the starting point from the template to the waistband.

I mark or measure the size of the button so that the buttonhole is the right size later.

The buttonhole is then embroidered using the sewing program. I first make a sample on a comparably thick test piece.

Tip

If you do not have such a program on your machine, you can mark the length of the button and embroider a laundry buttonhole with two different zigzag stitches.

The two long bartacks at the top and bottom are sewn with a small stitch width. A wider bar tack is sewn at the beginning and end of the buttonhole. If necessary, the needle position can also be shifted to the right or left to achieve a beautiful result.

I sew a buttonhole like this with the following settings:
long bartack: stitch length 0.4 – stitch width 1.3 – needle position -2 (shifted to the left)
short bartack: stitch length0.05 – stitch width 3.8 – needle position normal

Be sure to try out this variant first on a leftover piece of the same thickness. You can sew the buttonhole without taking off in between. To do this, leave the needle lowered in the fabric between the individual bartacks and carefully turn the trousers underneath with the presser foot raised. If your machine has a top feed foot, this can be very helpful, especially with thicker fabrics.

If you have sewn a buttonhole with an eye, you can punch it out with a small punch (approx. 2 mm diameter).

Once the buttonhole has been carefully cut open, the button position can be marked. First, I close the slit so that the left waistband edge lies over the right underlap. The center front of the left and right front pieces meet exactly.

Then I sew on the button.

12. Sew belt loops onto the waistband

The belt loops are first topstitched 15 mm parallel below the waistband seam. It is advisable to place a piece of fabric (e.g. a leftover piece from the belt loop cut) in front of and, if necessary, behind the loop. This means that the presser foot is already at the correct height when quilting and can feed better. A so-called “height equalizer” made of plastic can of course also be used.

Then pin the belt loops to the waistband. The top edges are folded over flush with the top edge of the waistband and sealed on top.

In this example, I have worked with a narrow zigzag stitch with a stitch width of 1.5 and a stitch length of 0.4. I recommend that you try out the stitch on a test piece first.

Again, it is helpful to use the height compensation tip to bring the presser foot into a straight position.

When all the belt loops are sewn in place, your waistband is finished!

Here is the link to the next step:

• Sew turned-in trouser hem #S01

If you’re not quite ready yet and perhaps want to start at the beginning, you’ll find some links here:

• Preparing the pattern for cutting
• Cutting fabrics and materials