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There is a box, in the corner of my sewing[br]room.

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It is a box whose contents have not seen the[br]light of day for many a month.

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Many crafters will be familiar with this box,[br]in all of its forms:

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There’s the ever-growing amorphous lump[br]that lies underneath your desk…

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The monster underneath your bed…[br]The stuff you vacuum-packed in a fit of organization

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and stuffed into your garage in the hopes[br]that you’d never have to deal with it again…

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This, my friends, is the UNFINISHED SEWING[br]PILE.

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So this is the third and final installment[br]of this mini 3-part series-within-a-series

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– check out episodes 6 and 7 to see how[br]I upcycled this top and cardigan!

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But today’s episode will show you how I[br]altered this skirt.

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I got this skirt back in 2013, and while it[br]fit me perfectly back then – I’m a little

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bit rounder on the waist aaaaand it doesn’t[br]fit me anymore.

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I can still pull it on, but I also feel like[br]I’m being strangled to death when I do so.

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So, my plan to save this skirt is simply to[br]replace the elastic.

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With my unpicking tool, I start removing this[br]exposed elastic waistband from the fabric.

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When I first looked at it, it seemed like[br]the elastic was attached with a 3-thread overlocking

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stitch, which would mean I’d need to snip[br]through THESE threads in order to unpick it

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– but upon further assessment the two only[br]appeared to only be connected with a straight

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stitch, and the overlocking threads up the[br]top here were only on the skirt fabric.

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And seriously – this is sewn on SO badly.[br]This piece is actually something that I got

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from an online fast fashion store, and this[br]was before I swore off fast fashion.

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Anyway, in order to remove the elastic I first[br]cut through every 5th stitch or so, and then

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I was simply able to pull the elastic away[br]from the fabric like this, occasionally needing

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to stop, cut through a stitch, and then keep[br]pulling, until the waistband was removed.

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Next, with a new piece of fairly thick elastic,[br]I wrapped it around my waist so that it was

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slightly tight, but not uncomfortable. Then[br]I cut it to this length and I sewed it into

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a loop by sewing the ends together here. For[br]this I used a zig zag stitch, and I went back

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and forth a couple of times. Then, I cut off[br]the excess elastic at the ends as close to

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the stitches as possible, and then I did another[br]zig zag stitch right over the edges to prevent

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fraying. Then, to flatten the waistband down[br]as much as possible, I pressed the ends to

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one side, and then I stitched over it on the[br]right-side like this.

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And just for comparison, here’s the old[br]waistband next to the new one – you can

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really see here why the skirt didn't fit before!

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Now, it’s time to attach the elastic to[br]the skirt, and as you can see I’ve got a

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lot more skirt than waistband – but that[br]doesn’t matter. I simply divide both the

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top of the skirt and the elastic waistband[br]into 4 quarters – so I put pins

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here, here, here and here.

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Then, to sew them together, I slide the waistband[br]onto the machine first, right sides down,

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and then I slide the top of the skirt underneath[br]it, right sides up. So, right sides together.

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Then, I do a backstitch, to hold the two together[br]securely, and then, sewing with a straight

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stitch along the top, I pull the elastic so[br]that the next set of pins matches up, and

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I sew the elastic onto the fabric.

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And I simply continue this all the way around[br]the skirt.

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Now, there is another, “cleaner” way of[br]sewing this kind of exposed elastic waistband

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on, where you sew it wrong sides together,[br]flip the elastic over and then top-stitch

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it, and I’ll leave a link to that technique[br]in the description box, but I am using this

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simpler technique, mainly because I didn’t[br]want any visible stitching on the waistband.

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Now I know I’m showing you how to replace[br]an old waistband with a new one, but you can

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also use the methods that I show here in order[br]to make a skirt with an elastic-waistband

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with any rectangle of fabric that’s bigger[br]than your waist, as long as that rectangle

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is first sewn into a loop!

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Now I just unfold the waistband, and here’s[br]how it looks – and now it fits!

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Very comfortably so, might I add.

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Which is awesome because I don’t know if[br]you noticed but this fabric is great – BAMBI!

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Make sure you also watch episodes 6 and 7[br]of the Style Pile to see how this complete

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outfit came together!

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I hope you’re all having a great day and[br]I'll see you all in my next video. Bye!

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Thank you to all of my supporters on Patreon[br]who helped to make this video possible. To

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become my Patreon supporter, go to patreon.com/annikavictoria

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Also protip for anyone looking to become a[br]youtuber - NEVER change your hair colour.

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It’s just too much for some people.

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Just kidding most of you were so nice about[br]my new blonde hair and I freaking love it

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so much, so thank you.