Today we are sewing up the button waistband on the Flint Pants or Shorts!
If you want a cleaner, more streamlined look then this is the waistband for you! Actually if you want it even more minimal, you could hack it so that the buttons are sewn on the inside of the front waistband piece and the buttonholes are sewn through the inside waistband piece. You can see this and lots of other options for hacking this fab pattern here.
The button waistband is only one pattern piece and the construction is easily done!
It completes the hidden closure inside the pocket and then your pants practically finished!! After this, all that is left is hemming them.
So let’s get going!
Interfacing
The first step is to attach lightweight fusible interfacing to the wrong side of the waistband (pattern piece 5).
The widely used method for attaching interfacing is to cut out both the fabric and the interfacing according to the pattern piece and use an iron to fuse them together.
Hold the iron down for between 10 – 30 seconds on each section to ensure it fuses properly. However, if you are not careful to press (lifting your iron up and placing it on the next section) instead of ironing (moving the iron back and forth over the fabric), this method can distort the fabric or the shape of the interfacing.
Another method is ‘block fusing’. To block fuse, you cut a piece of fabric large enough to fit all the pattern pieces needing interfacing. Fuse interfacing to whole piece on the wrong side. Then cut out the pattern pieces from the pre-interfaced fabric. This is effective and can reduce the risk of distorting the grain of the fabric. However it can also create unnecessary fabric waste. And as we’ve already established in the pattern-cutting tutorial, I want to salvage as much precious fabric as possible!
I prefer to do a reversal of this method. First cut the fabric pattern pieces out, lay them wrong side down on the shiny, dotted side of a piece of interfacing big enough to fit the pattern pieces. Add a layer of baking paper on top of both the fabric and interfacing. This will not stick to the interfacing and will allow you to press the fabric to the interfacing without risking your iron getting gummy. Peel off the baking paper and cut out your pattern pieces from the interfacing.
Markings
Make sure all notches, buttons and buttonholes are marked on the waistband. This will help you to determine which side of the waistband will be placed on the inside and how it should be aligned on the waisitline seam. Use whatever method works best for you – my go-tos are chalk, pen or tailor’s tacks.
I often used FriXion pens that erase with heat – so be ware if you are ironing over your markings! But this worked in my favour with this pair of Flints! I was squeezing these pants out of a smaller cut of fabric, so I included the selvage on the inside of the waistband where only I will see it. However I marked the waistband notches and buttons so that this would end up on the outside. All I had to do was run my iron over the waistband to remove the markings and then correct them!
Attach the waistband
The instructions tell you to turn and press the inside edge of the waistband after it has been attached. I prefer (as does the designer, Megan!) to turn and press it beforehand when it is easier to handle. Turn in the inside edge of the waistband by 1.5cm (5/8”) and press well. The inside edge is the edge furthest away from the button markings.
Right sides together, align the waistband on the pants so that the notches on line up with the seams on the pants. Check you have the waistband positioned the right way, the button and buttonhole marks should sit closest to the waistline seam.
The waistband piece will extend 1.5cm (5/8”) beyond the pocket opening, as well as the pocket back on the inside of the garment. Sew 1.5cm (5/8”) from the raw edge along the waistline seam.
The left pocket should still be open – this is where you will be getting in and out of the pants!
Press the seam allowances and waistband piece up away from the main pants.
Right sides together, fold the ends of the waistband in half. Align the folded edge of the waistband with the waist seam previously sewn.
Sew 1.5cm (5/8”) from the raw edge along the short waistband ends. Be careful not to catch the pants or pocket edge in your sewing. Clip the corners and trim the seam allowance back.
Turn the waistband ends so that the right side is out. Use a pointing tool for the corners.
There are speciality tools you can get but I find the end of a pen, the stylus for my sewing machine touch screen or a good ol’ chopstick will do the trick!
Press the waistband in half so that the inner edge aligns with the waist seam.
The instructions tell you to pin the waistband to the seam allowance on the inside of the pants. However as you will topstitch from the outside, I prefer to pin the waistband to the seam allowance from the outside. I find this makes the garment easier to handle on my machine.
Carefully topstitch the waistband around 2-3mm (1/8”) from the seam edge on the outside of the pants. This will enclose the waistband. Go slow so your top stitching stays even the whole way around.
Buttons
Sew two buttonholes on the outer waistband in the positions marked earlier. Sew two buttons on the inner waistband (the pocket back) in the positions also marked earlier.
When opening up the button hole, I put a pin through the end. This will stop my seam ripper going straight through the end of my button hole and also prevent any resulting tears or swear words!
Now your pants are really coming together! You are only one step away from completion – the last thing to do is hem your pants!! Yay! And that is exactly what we’ll do tomorrow!
If you still need the Flint sewing pattern, you can get it here! But first head over to my Sew Along Announcement post to get your discount code for 20% off!! (valid until 19 May 2019)
Don’t forget to tag us on Instagram for your chance to win a Megan Nielsen PDF pattern of your choice!
To enter all you have to do is:
1. Follow me @indybindyco
2. Follow Megan @megannielsenpatterns
3. Comment on any of my Instagram posts this week letting us know you’re taking part in the sew along.
4. Tag both of us in the caption of a post of your Flint pants (completed or in process!) The more posts you tag us in the more entries you get!
5. Be sure to include the hashtags #sewitwithindybindy and #mnflint so we can keep track of the entries and see your gorgeous makes!!
Happy sewing!!
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