Sewing Lessons with Miss E and Me: Sewing Elastic Together

I'm going to make Papa a pair of work-out pants out of a cotton knit fabric. The pants will have an elastic waistband, so my grandma and I had a little lesson about sewing the ends of elastic together so they are comfortable and will stay together.

First, I sewed 2 pieces of elastic together the way I sew two pieces of fabric togther.

It seemed strong enough. But when I felt the BUMPY side against my skin,

I didn't like how it felt at all.  
Who wants a bump in the top of your pants when you wear them?
Then my grandma said this is 
NOT HOW TO sew the elastic together.  

The second examples uses a piece of lightweight fabric. The two ends of the elastic placed on top of the fabric and directly next to each other, but not overlapping. Two of the  rows of zigzag hold the elastic to the base fabric, and the center row of stitching zigzags the two pieces into one. Lastly, you trim the base fabric to the size of the elastic.

2 rows of zigzags to each side and a wider zigzag in the middle

Cutting off the extra material.

All finished, on the back

 The third example overlaps the elastic and has a box with either an X or 1 diagonal line in the box. This application will take a lot of stress and will not come apart easily. It lays flat inside the casing and has a slight thickness where it overlaps. 

"I pulled and pulled on this one and it was very strong." said Miss E.  "But you still have a bump inside your pants."

 

So after this experiment, which one do I want to use inside Papa's workout pants?

There are two ways that work, but...
 I like this one the BEST!

This is the one I want to use in my Papa's pants.

Next Friday, I'm going to tell you about ways that my Grandma is helping me to sew straight seams and turn corners. See you then.

Smiles,

Miss E and Grandma