How to Tighten Jeans Waist

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This article was co-written by Andrea Beaulieu. Andrea Beaulieu is a tailor, fashion designer, and owner of MOORE, a boutique that sells streetwear (contemporary and neutral) as well as tailor-made products in Brooklyn, New York. Andrea has over 20 years of experience in fashion design and marketing, specializing in pattern making, draping and clothing development. She holds a bachelor’s degree in fashion design and trade promotion from North Carpina University in Greensboro.

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If your jeans are loose or a little loose at the waist, you can correct them by squeezing the waistband yourself. If you’re good at sewing, you can squeeze the waistband at the back for a professional-looking seam. An easier method is to squeeze the waist at the sides. Even without the skill or patience, you can make the waist less tight without sewing by using elastic bands.

Table of Contents

Squeeze the waist at the back of the pants

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Pull the waistband behind the back for a snug fit and pin it in place. Put on the pants and loop one hand behind the waist to adjust the pants to the correct size, the other hand grab the excess fabric at the waistband and use a large size tape to pin. Grab just below the tape to pull off excess fabric and pin it back with a pin. Continue grabbing and pinning down along the seam until the pants hug the waist and hips.

Be careful not to pin your underwear (or skin!)
Try to pin as close to the crotch as possible. The further you pin, the harder it will be to see the transition between the old and the new thread. ^{[1] X Research Source}

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Draw a marker on the reverse side of the jeans along the pinned seam, then remove the needle. Carefully remove your pants. Lay the pants on a flat surface with the front facing up and pull the front waistband down to see the inside of the pinned back. Use tailor’s chalk to draw a vertical line in the center of the pinned seam, leaving a seam on both sides. Remove the pin after marking.

If tailor’s chalk isn’t available, you can also use a highlighter pen. ^{[2] X Research Source}

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Remove the waistband seam between the two markers, plus an additional 1.3 cm of seam on each side. Unscrew from left to right, using a thread remover to remove the upper and lower rows of sewing thread along the waistband. Remove all stitches of the two rows of thread at the waistband between the two markings, plus 1.3 cm on each side. At this time, you have not removed the seam at the top edge of the waistband and bottom of the pants.

To ensure that too many threads are not removed, you can cut the first and last stitches to be removed, and then remove all the stitches in the middle. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

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Remove the pants leeches. Remove the trouser belts located between the two lines. Carefully remove the thread that attaches the leeches to the waistband.

Keep the stitches on the trouser lugs after removing. You will sew on these stitches when you reattach the trouser leeches to hide the new seam. ^{[4] X Research Sources}
If you don’t want to remove the pant leeches, you can cut the top end of the trouser leeches in the middle and the bottom end of the leeches on the left and right sides. You will sew it back again after you have fixed the waistband.

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Loosen the stitches along the top edge of the waistband and the middle of the butt. Carefully cut the stitches at the top edge of the waistband to the same length that you removed the two waistlines. Separate the two layers of the waistband. Use a thread remover to remove the left side seam from the waistband to about 2.5 cm below the chalk lines. Unscrew the corresponding stitches on the right side of the pants to remove the bottom of the pants.

For easier and more precise thread removal, you can cut the first and last stitches to be removed, and then remove the midpoints. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

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Fold the inner layer of the waistband and sew along the waist length with a straight stitch. Fold the waistband across the mid-waist line, at the midpoint of the two chalk lines. Fold so that the right sides (face out) face each other so that the folded edge is facing the body. Sew from top to bottom with a single straight stitch. ^{[6] X Research Source}

To prevent the waistband of your newly modified pants from snagging, you can trim the excess fabric outside the seam. Leave about 0.6 cm of fabric outside the seam. Use an iron to force the cutting ends of the fabric to open on each side of the seam. ^{[7] X Research Sources}
You can use a pin to pin where you want to sew and draw a chalk line to sew exactly. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

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Same fix for the outer layer of the waistband. Take the modified inner layer of the waistband as the level to sew the outer layer back. Fold the fabric in the center, sew and press the edges.

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Sew the bottom of the pants with a straight stitch. Sew the bottom of the pants by turning the right sides (face out) together. Pin the needle along the previously drawn chalk lines. Sew closed with a straight stitch next to the pins.

You can hammer the old seam at this step to flatten the layers so it’s easier to sew across. ^{[9] X Research Source}
Try on after sewing the bottom of the pants to make sure the seam is straight and in place. If there’s something that isn’t right, you can use a thread remover to remove the seam and re-sewn. ^{[10] X Research Source}

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Sew the seam with a single straight stitch. To give your repaired jeans their original look, you’ll use sewing thread to sew two 2 rows, starting from the line you’re sewing up to the waistband to match the rest of the jeans. Sew a few stitches on top of the old thread to make the stitches blend more smoothly. ^{[11] X Research Source}

Use a long stitch on the sewing machine to give the seam a more professional look. You can try using a stitch length of 3.5 mm. ^{[12] X Research Source}
If you have a 2-needle sewing machine, you can also use it to sew both stitches at the same time instead of having to sew 2 separate lines.
If you can’t find sewing thread, you can also sew 2 regular sewing threads to make it look thicker and more like the original seam of jeans. ^{[13] X Research Source}
If your jeans are worn down at the bottom and the seams look too new and unappealing, try using a nail file to give it a little scuff. ^{[14] X Research Source}

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Reattach the trouser leeches with a single straight stitch. Sew the top and bottom ends of the trouser leech to the waistband. Remember to use the same color thread as the other pant leeches.

You should use a hammer to knock on the places you will sew because you will have to sew through many layers of denim. ^{[15] X Research Source}

Squeeze the waist on both sides of the pants

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Wear jeans turned upside down and tuck the sides of the waist until they fit. Turn the jeans inside out and put them on. Pinch the sides of the pants to fit the waist. Try to grab the sides evenly so that the jeans are balanced after fixing.

You can use a large tape to pin it in place before proceeding to the next step. ^{[16] X Research Source}

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Pin the excess fabric on either side with a knitting needle. Carefully pin the inside of the waistband on either side of the waist where you grabbed it, as close to the waist as possible for a snug fit. Be careful not to get a pin in your hand. Continue pinning down the sides while still grabbing the excess fabric. Pin down as far as you want the pants to hug.

You can pin from the waist down the middle of the thigh or down to the knee if you want the pants to be tight. ^{[17] X Research Source}

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Sew next to stapled needles with a single straight stitch. Carefully remove your jeans. Sew the sides of the pants along the pin line. Using a stiff denim needle, the stitch is longer than usual and the tension is higher. Re-stitch (stitch back over the stitches just sewn) for the first and last stitches to keep them in place. ^{[18] X Research Sources}

Start with stitch length at level 2 and thread tension at level 4. If you can’t see it, you can easily remove the stitches and adjust the level with a thread remover. Don’t be afraid to experiment until you are satisfied with the seam.

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Turn the pants right out and try on. Try on the modified pants to see if they fit. You can remove the thread and redo it if something is wrong. If the pants fit just right, but the excess fabric inside is tight, you can cut it, remember to leave about 0.6 cm outside the seam to prevent it from coming off. And if you don’t see it, it’s okay to leave it as is.

You can also fold the excess fabric to one side and sew the top down so that it lies flat when you put it on. ^{[19] X Research Source}

Use elastic band

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Grab the excess fabric in the middle of the back of the pants. Put your jeans on and grab the excess fabric in the middle at the back of the pants to give them a snug fit.

Flatten the waistband before wearing to try on for accurate measurement. ^{[20] X Research Source}

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Mark the two ends of the gathered fabric on the reverse side of the jeans. Continue to grab the fabric, use chalk or highlighter to mark a small line at both ends of the fabric being grabbed.

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Cut two slits on the inside of the waistband to thread the elastic through. Take off your pants and lay them down on a flat surface, front facing up. Pull down the front waistband to see the inside of the back. Cut a few centimeters of thread on the bottom edge of the waistband, below the two lines you just marked. Use scissors to cut a slit from one of the stitched seams to just before the top edge of the waistband, making sure to cut only through the inner layer of the waistband. Cut another slit on the other side. ^{[21] X Research Source}

The opening needs to be at least 2cm long to fit the elastic band.

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Prepare a 2 cm wide elastic band. Measure and cut the elastic so that it is a little shorter than the distance between the two openings just cut on the waistband. Insert a tape needle into each end of the elastic.

The shorter the elastic band, the smaller the waistline will be.

Things you need

Squeeze the waist of the pants at the back

Strong ice needle
Pin
Sewing machine with needle for sewing denim fabric
Thread remover
Tailor’s chalk
Measure
Hammer or rubber mallet
Ordinary sewing thread
Sewing thread of the same color as the thread on the waistband
Iron

Squeeze the pants waist on both sides

Pin
Sewing machine with needle for sewing denim fabric
Ordinary sewing thread
Iron

Use an elastic band

2 ice needles
2 cm wide elastic band
Fabric scissors
Highlighter
Thread remover
Iron

Advice

It is best to repair jeans when they are freshly washed or dried. Jeans that have been worn all day have stretched a bit and will result in inaccurate measurements. ^{[23] X Research Sources}

Warning

Do not squeeze the waist more than 4 cm because it changes the position of the pants pocket and affects the hug at the waist of the pants. ^{[24] X Research Source}
Don’t try to fix your favorite pair of jeans before practicing with other pants. ^{[25] X Research Sources}

Steps