Making the Marigold trousers or jumpsuit? In the final instalment of the sewalong, we're going to make the elasticated waistband and hem the trousers.
Catching up? Order your sewing pattern and read the previous steps in the Marigold sewalong.
The beauty of this is the elasticated waistline is that it will cinch the trousers or jumpsuit in to your exact waist size - hooray!
If you're making the trouser version, welcome back! Remember in the last step you attached the waistband to the waistband facing around one long edge, understitched the seam allowances to the facing and pressed the seam line slightly towards the facing. Skip to 'Trouser version' below to see what to do next...
Jumpsuit version
If you're making the jumpsuit version, your waistband and waistband facing should currently be in two loops, joined at the short sides but not yet attached to each other.
Slip one of these loops over the outside of the bodice at the waist seam, right sides together - this will be the waistband. Slip the other loop inside the bodice at the waist seam, the right side of the loop against the wrong side of the bodice - this will be the waistband facing.
Pin the three layers together around the waistline, lining up the side seams so they lie directly on top of each other. To do this, I like to insert a long pin just next to each side seam and check it's the same angle and distance away from seam on all layers.
Stitch the three layers together around the waistband, keeping the rest of the bodice out of the way.
Trim the seam allowances down to about half their width. Press the waistband and waistband facing away from the bodice on both wrong and right sides, so they end up wrong sides together.
With the trousers right sides out, slip the bodice over them at the waist so they end up right sides together. Pin them together around the waist, matching up the side seams and notches. The waistband and waistband facing should still be folded wrong sides together away from the bodice, so you're pinning the waistband and facing pieces - but not the bodice itself - to the trousers.
And make sure the front of the bodice (with the sweetheart neckline) is lying over the front of the trousers (with the pockets) so they don't end up back to front!
Now you can stitch the three layers together around the waist - but very important - leave an opening of about 10cm (4in) or so somewhere at the back. I like to mark the opening with two double sets of pins to remind me to stop sewing when I get to them (although sometimes I do forget and have to get the unpicker out, hehe).
Skip the next step and join us at 'All versions' below...
Trouser version
If you're making the trousers only, slip the waistband and facing over the top of the trousers at the waist, so the right side of the facing is against the right side of the trousers. Remember the waistband facing (the layer that goes on the inside) has the understitching and visible seam - this should be facing up.
Pin them together around the waist, matching up the side seams and notches.
Now you can stitch the three layers together around the waist - but very important - leave an opening of about 10cm (4in) or so somewhere at the back. I like to mark the opening with two double sets of pins to remind me to stop sewing when I get to them (although sometimes I do forget and have to get the unpicker out, hehe).
All versions
Right, let's get the elastic inserted. Your elastic should be 2cm (3/4in) wide. We've found that if it's much narrower it moves around and gets twisted up in the waistband. If it's much wider you may struggle to insert it into the waistband.
The jumpsuit and trousers are designed to sit on your natural waist - where you bend at the side. Measure this part of you. Alternatively if you want to wear the trousers lower down your hips, you can measure the level you'd like the waistband to sit (I wouldn't advise this for the jumpsuit though).
Take about 10% off this measurement to allow the elastic to stretch (this isn't an exact science as the stretchiness of elastic varies, but 10% is a good benchmark figure). Now add 15mm (5/8in) to this measurement so you can overlap the elastic when you sew the ends together.
Waist measurement - 10% + 15mm (5/8in)
So for example if your waist measurement is 85cm, you'd calculate 85 - 8.5 + 1.5 = 78cm.
Cut the elastic to this length and attach a large safety pin to one end.
Little note of caution - as the trousers don't have a zip, check you can squeeze the elastic over your hips before you commit! If it's feeling tight, you can always cut it a little larger :)
(Trouser people - I'm using pictures of the jumpsuit from now on but the same steps apply to the trousers - just imagine the bodice is invisible!)
Pin the non-safety pin end of the elastic to the trousers so it doesn't get lost. Then use the safety pin to insert the elastic through the opening you left in the waistband and facing, and thread it all the way around until it emerges at the other end. This takes a bit of patience!
Hopefully it won't get stuck through on random layers as you stitched down the pocket bits earlier, but if it does get jammed somewhere along the way, reverse and try again.
Once the elastic is threaded all the way around the waistband, feel around it to check it hasn't twisted.
Now you can join the two ends of the elastic together (again, making sure it's not twisted). Overlap the two ends by 15mm (5/8in) and pin them together. Pull the fabric out of the way, then sew a couple of lines of stitches to secure the elastic ends, sewing backwards and forwards a few times to check the stitches won't snap. Straight stitch is fine as you're not sewing against the elastic's direction of stretch.
Tuck the elastic inside the waistband. Now you can stitch up the opening you left in the waistband - pull the fabric nice and flat to do this, and try to overlap the ends of the new stitches with the ends of the old ones.
Finish the seam allowances with zigzag stitch or an overlocker (serger), taking care to keep the rest of the garment out of the way.
Distribute the gathers evenly around the waist. Now, one option is to simply secure the elastic in place by stitching "in the ditch" of the side seams, through waistband, elastic and facing (not the bodice!). This is the easy option and what we suggest for our beginner patterns Bettine and Dominique.
I'm going to show you a more fiddly method of holding the elastic in place so the gathers stay evenly distributed. This is totally optional, but we think it gives the trousers and jumpsuit a casual, sporty look that suits the design.
Start by pinning through the waistband, elastic and waistband facing at regular intervals, keeping the fabric gathers evenly distributed between the pins (don't pin through the bodice if you're making the jumpsuit).
Set your machine to a 3mm stitch length. Now stitch along the centre of the waistband, through the waistband, elastic and facing, being careful to keep the other layers out of the way. (If you're making the jumpsuit, see how I'm holding the bodice to the right, out of the way of the needle.) Sew in stages, stretching the elastic out so the fabric lies flat from one pin to the next, stitching this bit, then stretching out and stitching the next bit.
Try to keep the needle in the centre of the waistband, keeping an eye on the edge of the presser foot to check it's staying an even distance away from the seam.
Once you've come full circle, overlap the final few stitches over the first few stitches to secure them in place.
This is what the waistband should looks like when you're done! (Without the bodice if you're making the trousers, obviously.) If it looks like the elastic stretched out during all that pulling and stitching, try hovering a steamy iron over the waistband to shrink it back down.
Okay - final bit! Finish the raw edge of the trouser leg hems with zigzag stitch or an overlocker. With the trousers right side out, fold the hem on each leg up to the wrong side by 3cm (1 1/4in), pressing and pinning in place.
Try the trousers on and check you're happy with the length. As they're primarily for warm weather, they're designed to sit mid-ankle and ride up a little when you sit down. If you want to shorten them, trim and finish the new hem allowance 3cm (1 1/4in) longer than the level you want them to sit at, and press and pin up again. If you want to lengthen them, you can reduce the hem turn up by a small amount, then next time you make them take a look at our tutorial on lengthening the trousers.
Once you're happy with the hems, topstitch them in place using a 25mm (1in) seam allowance. I like to sew small tubes like trouser hems and sleeves within the "loop", with the trousers right sides out and the wrong side up on your machine, so you can keep an eye on the other side and check the layers don't shift. Once you come full circle, overlap the last few stitches over the first few stitches to secure them in place.
Give your trousers or jumpsuit a final press and... woohoo! You've made yourself a lovely Marigold jumpsuit or pair of trousers!
I hope you're feeling suitably proud of yourself. We would absolutely LOVE to see what you've made, so please tag us on Instagram @TillyButtons using the hashtag #SewingMarigold (sometimes we miss notifications but we always search hashtags!). Alternatively you can email us a photo or a link to a blog post. We'd love to feature some of your makes on our Pinterest gallery and in a round-up post on this blog :)
Thank you so much for taking part in the sewalong - I hope you enjoyed it! xxx
