Organza Waistband on Green Wool Pants

This afternoon I finished the green wool pants I made for the SWAP collection, and immediately wore them to dinner tonight. They're the same pattern as my tan wool pants, and also a Pendleton wool, but a little more brushed finish than the tan. They turned out beautifully though. I like to use a 1/4" waistband, which I usually make out of a different fabric than the pants, unless they're a really thin fabric. Ribbon works well, but I didn't have anything that went with this, so I stopped at Hancock Fabrics last night, and bought several choices, including a bias binding that was a green mottled-effect print. It really looked great, but I decided it would be just a little too wild for what is a very classic pair of pants. I decided to go with a 1-1/2" dark green nylon organza ribbon.

I stitched the ribbon to the right side of the waistline, then turned it, folding the pant seam allowance down in the process, and pinned, letting the ribbon edge go over the seam on the wrong side and hang down. I hand-stitched it in the ditch, and finished the back end flush, and the front end with an underlap. I used a snap at the edge of the back, and a handworked eye on the end of the front underlap with a hook on the inside band. This is the best combination of fasteners I've found yet for these pants. Very secure, yet easy to open and close, and completely invisible from the right side. I was a little worried that it would be scratchy to wear, but it is not at all. Very comfortable.

I also used the ribbon as a "hem tape," stitching it to the hem edge of the pants, and hemming from it to the underlining. There was no reason to do this really, I just thought it would look cute, and I had plenty of ribbon left. The ribbon has quite a bit of body to it, and actually is a nice hem reinforcement. You can see photos of the waistband at the end of my Pants Gallery.