This is going to be a post of things I learned today.

More elastic arrived. Dritz Soft Waistband elastic was still too hard. Dritz Lingerie elastic was nice and soft though. So I decided to make another pair of pants using the lingerie elastic.

I picked the Telio Bamboo Rayon rib knit fabric in pink. Anyone already know where this story is going?

I cut out the pattern, sewed the hems, boom! Record time. I even adjusted the feed ratio to handle the incredible stretch of the material.

Then, I serged the elastic to the pants. I used an 18″ long piece of elastic. When I flipped the elastic and hemed it to the pants, I suddenly had a 20″ long waistband. Trying it on, the pants were so baggy. Y’all. Rib knit has infinite stretch and is heavy so it drags down a lot.

I chopped the waistband off and used a 16″ long piece of elastic. Carefully serged and hemmed the waistband. Up to 17″ long waistband. Alright, we’ll see how that works.

Then, I decided to do ankle ribs on the bias (diagonal). Unfortunately, I cut my cuffs a half inch too long. The ankles are huge loops. Then I thought I’d try top stitching to see if the ankles would lay flatter. The top stitching is beautiful. But… It made the ankles even wider!

My current thought is to through the pants in a hot wash and warm dry to see if they loosen into a better shape.

So. What did I learn today?

• Rayon Ribbing has weight and stretch. It will hang in such a way that it pulls the garment larger.
• Top stitching is gorgeous.
• I really want a cover stitch machine.
• Lingerie elastic is the feel I’m looking for in elastic.

Some projects go straight into the trash bin. I may try to narrow the leg hems with a quick seam. But I don’t have much hope for these pants.

EDIT: The pants fit great! The waistband is the right size. The pants get longer and longer as you run around in them, which hides the baggy ankles. This photo is taken post outside time, complete with some mud stuck to the front. 🥰

Next up: finding a toddler raglan sweater pattern.