Thread: I should know the answer to this sewing question

I need to sew up the elastic that is in my tribal skirt and harem pants ( right now they are safety pinned ). Is the length of the elastic suppose to be my hip measurement minus 1"? What should it be for the bottoms of the harem pants? Same 1" less than my ankle measurement? Thanks for any help.

I would just take a piece of elastic from the roll and try it on to see what is comfortable or does the job. Not all elastic will have the same elasticity so I would fit it to the body before cutting the determined length, rather than rely on a formula.

yes, that does make sense. Thanks.

yup - that's what I was going to say too.

Although for my ankles, I just make the final length be my ankle circumference, then they don't dig into my ankles and they are more than tight enough. The strtech is just used to get them over my feet.

You may also need to take into account the bulk and/or weight of the fabric. Elastic that feels about right for the ankle may be much tighter after you thread 40+" of harem pants leg onto it. Safety pin the elastic into the casing and try it on before deciding how tight you want the elastic. I like to make my harem pants extra long, and then wear the elastic above the ankle for a balloon effect, so I actually need to dance around a bit to find the correct tightness for the elastic so it won't creep down while I'm moving.