Skinny Jeans

So the little man has discovered that he can take off his pants, and I think he takes great delight in taking them off in public while his parents aren't looking because it perplexes his mama, and everyone always seems to chuckle when they see him pantless. I have the hardest time trying to keep that kid in clothes that actually fit him. Most of the pants that fit in the waist are now too short and the ones that fit him lengthwise fall down to his knees and get in the way of his tornado abilities. I know that there are pants that already have the adjustable waistbands (a piece of elastic with button holes in order to tighten or loosen) in them and I have decided that every pair of little kid pants should have this capability. I know there are great tutorials out there, but this is my super easy version that has worked wonderfully to keep his pants from sagging.

First, I just used my seam ripper to put a hole on the inside layer of the waistband. Then I threaded the elastic in between the layers about two inches and sewed it in to anchor it. You can't see the seem where I sewed it because it was the same color thread as the pants but it's about 2 1/2 inches from the button. Then I did the same thing on the other side. 

Next I hand sewed a button on both sides. And then used my seam ripper to put a little button hole in the elastic (after I pulled it somewhat tight) where I thought it should be. I plan on adding more holes as the munchkin grows.  I had to adjust the hole a little after I put the pants on him.

Next I used the seam ripper to put another little opening for the extra elastic. Most manufactured adjustable waistbands don't do this, but they have softer elastic. I didn't think the type of elastic I used would be very comfortable against the skin so I hid it in between the layers of the waistband. 

Like this. (Sorry for the poor quality of picture). 

I'm not the best tutorial person, but hopefully the pictures helped. I basically sewed more elastic in there and you can't even tell from the outside. And it sure beats using a safety pin ;)