Elastic, once known as the bane of my existence, now a cute little friend in my sewing box (bucket). Yes, when I started sewing cloth diapers, I had literally NO experience with Elastic. I had an idea of what you were supposed to do with it, but no idea how to get it to actually work right. All I knew was that it was supposed to look scrunchy after being sewn in. So I started experimenting. I knew that a straight stitch wouldn’t work, but didn’t know exactly WHY. I figured it was because the elastic was too wide for a straight stitch….. I was wrong, but it got me to the correct stitch anyway.

The right stitch to use when you’re stitching elastic directly onto fabric is a Zig-Zag stitch. One that goes all the way across the elastic without falling off the edge is the best. Therefore, if you’re using a ¼ inch band of elastic, you’ll need a stitch that goes across a ¼ inch. Simple enough to think about. If you’re using a machine, this stitch is a little harder to come by (some older machines simply have almost no way of doing a zig-zag stitch. I had to play with the stitch length and size a lot in order to get something close to what I needed with my mom’s old machine. I ended up using the widest stitch setting at the longest stitch setting to get it to go across, this made the stitching go by faster too (because the stitches weren’t as small) so I had to make sure I was going slowly enough to actually catch the elastic under the stitching. There were a few times in the beginning that I missed the elastic entirely and had to take out whole sections of stitching (Thank you Richard for my seam-ripper).

I did find that it was a lot easier to get things to work properly when I hand-stitched my elastic. I could make sure with EVERY stitch that I was getting the elastic and putting it in the correct spot. Going around the curves of a fitted diaper with a sewing machine that wants to go faster than you can let it is frustrating. But, of course, like every type of sewing with elastic, there were some drawbacks. It was difficult to hold onto the fabric, sew with the needle, and stretch the elastic at the same time. It also made it worse that I’d cut the elastic to size before sewing, so I didn’t have anything to hold onto when I came down to the end. Elastic is a pain any way you look at it. But, its worth it! Having your kid in something you’ve made and having it work properly because you’ve added the needed elasticity to the material, best thing ever.

Sewing Elastic in a casing is MUCH easier…. But only really applicable when working with covers because then you’re putting the elastic around the whole waist and legs. Just Make Sure you MEASURE TWICE CUT ONCE!!!! You’ll think yourself the worst mommy ever if you cut too little and accidentally give your baby red-marks because the elastic is too tight.

OK, Now that I’ve regaled you with my tales of conquering the elastic, Here’s a simple step-by step.

Sewing onto Fabric
1. Lay the elastic on the material, making sure you have enough to cover whatever area you’re doing
2. Sew a few stitches into the end to make the elastic stay.
3. Sew in a Zig-Zag pattern, Stretching the elastic as you go.
4. When you come to the end, cut off the elastic and put a few stitches in that end too to seal it to the fabric
5. Admire your work…. Seriously, Elastic is evil, you just conquered evil!

Sounds simple doesn’t it! *maniacal laugh* It does sound simple…. And it can be simple once you get the hang of it. It doesn’t take too long, you’ll get it, even if you’ve never sewn anything in your life before.

Sewing in a Case

Now this actually IS easy. As easy as sewing a two-fold hem. The only thing you have to worry about is getting the fold large enough to go over the whole piece of elastic. SO… here we go.

1. Measure and Cut Elastic for baby- If you have the baby with you, Stretch the elastic around the baby’s waist and legs. The elastic should wrap all the way around the baby and fit snuggly, stretching slightly, but not leaving red-marks. Mark the elastic to each part (one leg might be larger than the other, so mark right and left legs).
2. Sew ends of elastic together, making a Ring.
3. Fold what will be the case around the elastic and tuck a little bit under as if you’re doing a hem with only one stitch.
4. Stitch the seam… You may want to pin, but I’ve found it unnecessary
5. Admire your work… you just put in elastic and lived to tell the taleJ