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How to Adjust the Waistline on Pants

If you discover your waistline creeping up in inches, there's no need to toss your favorite pants pattern in the donation bin. All you need to alter your pattern is a little sewing expertise and some skill on how to compute the measurements.

Instructions

- 1
  Adjust the waistline on pants at the side seams only. Because the center-front seam and center-back seam is cut close to the grain line in order to provide an attractive fit against the body, any adjustments made to those two seams might cause the garment to fit and look awkward.
- 2
  Determine how much you need to adjust the waistline by subtracting the waist measurement on the pattern from your actual waist measurement, and then divide that number by four. Add that number into the front and back side seams. For example, if your pattern makes a pair of pants for a size 30-inch waist and your waist measures 34 inches, you would add 1 inch to each side seam.
- 3
  Cut the waistband at the side seams and increase the dimensions by 1/2 of your total increase. For example, on a pair of pants that has a total adjustment of 1 inch, you would add ½ inch to the waistband at each side seam.

Sewing