In our experience, the elastic in a pair of track pants is the first thing to go and it is not easy trying to get stuff done with your track pants around your ankles or having to use one hand to continually hold them up. While it is possible to just junk them and buy more, it is a sad waste of otherwise serviceable clothing so rather than do that, Linda fixes them by replacing the broken elastic.
Choosing the Elastic
In our situation this was simply just a case of dragging out our stash of elastic to see what we had would fit. Her stash contained some 12mm wide elastic so that was what she used. Due to the currently non-functioning elastic being sewn into the band of the trousers, it can’t easily be removed, but that is not an issue, the new elastic is inserted into the band as described below.
The process
1. Cut slits in the band to allow insertion of the new elastic. This is done with small sharp pointed scissors with one slit cut each side of the front of the waistband.
2. Inserting the new elastic was done using a technique she learned from her mother. She inserted a safety pin into one end of the elastic, then slid the safety pin/elastic end into one of the slits in the waist band. Then by scrunching up (technical term) the waist band she moved the pin forward, held it and then by feel moved the safety pin along inside the waistband, allowing the pin and end of the elastic to move forward a couple of centimetres. Then unscrunching and moving the pin along.
3. Repeat until the safety pin emerges from the other slit in the waist band and there are a few centimetres of elastic protruding from each slit.
4. Cut the excess elastic off, leaving 2 to 3 cm of elastic protruding from each waist band slit then pull one side through so that both ends of the elastic are protruding from the same slit.
5. Sew both ends together then pull them back in so that they are inside the waist band and no longer poking out through the slit.
Job done, and the wearability and comfort of the track pants have returned to their original condition!
The finished product!
