How To Repair Frayed Waistband

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Learning how to effectively stop textile from fraying can save you time, aggravation, and coin. Whether y'all're in the middle of a sewing or quilting project or yous're trying to relieve a favorite piece of clothing, a fraying edge can exist an unwelcome sight. There are several methods out there that will help you preserve your fabric edges and prevent fraying.

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Utilize scotch tape for a quick set. Lay your fabric on a hard, flat surface with the back facing up. With the fabric'due south edge laid out in front of you horizontally, identify the tape along the acme of the border. Encompass about ¹⁄₂ in (ane.3 cm) of the fabric's border with the record. Allow the excess record fix the fabric loosely to your work surface. Cut a new, clean line through the taped fabric, below the fraying edge.^[1]
- Exit the tape on the edge to keep it from fraying.
- Scotch record is a clear, adhesive record. Select a matte tape equally opposed to one with a glossy finish considering it volition exist less noticeable.
- This method will not last if the slice is washed, but it is helpful when cutting straight edges in hard-to-handle fabrics. Information technology is likewise useful for pillows or other projects where the seams are hidden and subject to minimal washing.
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Gum your edges with textile gum, seam sealant, or super glue. Buy any one of these adhesives at a local arts and crafts store or online. Simply place modest dabs of mucilage forth the edge of the fabric. Use a cotton swab or toothpick to spread the gum evenly. Avoid using too much glue as it can exit dark spots on your fabric once it has stale.^[2]
- Alternatively, utilize the same process to apply the gum just and so fold the mucilage-covered edge of the cloth over and press it downwardly to create a hem.
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three
Using pinking shears to cut a fresh border. Pinking shears look like scissors with teeth and you tin find them at whatsoever arts and crafts store or online. You apply them as you lot would use pair of scissors, cutting a new edge onto your fabric. Instead of a straight border, however, the shears cut in a jagged-tooth pattern. This cutting volition prevent the edges from fraying.^[3]
- This is a popular beginner-level method for dealing with fraying edges.
- For additional stability, utilise adhesive to the cutting edge with a cotton swab or toothpick.
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Cutting and tie your thread. The low-tech and old-fashioned way to deal with a fraying edge is to fix it with a needle and thread. To brainstorm, cut a length of thread that is effectually 18 in (46 cm) in length. Tie a knot in one terminate by looping the finish around your forefinger, and so button the shorter stop through the loop, and pull information technology through.
2
Thread your needle. Accept the unknotted end of your thread and grasp it between your thumb and forefinger. Loop it around the needle and slip the tiny loop off over the head of the needle creating a tight little loop. Flatten the loop betwixt your fingers and then insert it through the centre of the needle until the loop pokes out the other side. Grasp the loop with your fingers and pull it through until the tail comes through.^[4]
- You may need to cut a fresh finish on your thread if it is a bit worn and floppy, as a soft slice of thread is difficult to piece of work with.
- Pull the tail through so that it is about 3–iv in (7.six–10.2 cm) in length.
3
Insert the needle from dorsum to front to create a whipstitch. ^[five] Concord your cloth with the front or finished side facing up. Starting at the back of the fabric, insert the needle as close to the edge equally you can. Push the needle through the fabric to the front and pull the thread through until the knot catches.^[6]
- Don't pull too tightly or you'll create a rumpled wait on your edge.
- Stay close to the edge, about ¹⁄₈ in (0.32 cm) or less is ideal.
4
Repeat your stitch to finish the edge. Identify your needle again on the dorsum of the cloth, next to the spot where y'all inserted it for your first stitch. Move on, repeating this same stitch across the length of your edge, ever inserting the needle from the dorsum to the forepart.^[7]
- Space your stitches closer together for a tighter sew or further apart for a looser stitch.
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Tie off the thread afterward the concluding stitch. Plow to the back of the material. Thread your needle under the terminal stitch and pull the thread under it until a small loop forms. Pull the needled through the loop and pull to create a knot. For more security, repeat this to brand a 2d knot.^[8]
- Cut the thread to finish the edge, leaving no more than an ^ane⁄_viii in (0.32 cm) remaining at the stop.
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Use a serger to secure the edge. The nearly professional person manner to end an edge is with a specialized sewing machine chosen a serger.^[nine] This sewing gadget uses four threads and two needles. Thread your serger and feed your seam under the pes, moving information technology through your automobile needles, as you lot would with any sewing machine.^[x]
- Be careful to remove pins before feeding the fabric through the serger.
- A serger sews, cuts, and finishes a seam all at the same time. For this reason, it can relieve you fourth dimension.
- A serger is a specialized automobile that cannot replace all the more basic functions of a regular sewing auto. They cost a couple hundred dollars, simply if you exercise a lot of finishing work this might be a good pick for yous.
2
Try a zigzag stitch on your sewing motorcar. Prepare your sewing machine to the zigzag setting by using the dial or digital display on its side.^[eleven] Place the fabric under the raised foot of your machine.^[12] Lower the foot and go along to feed the fabric through the machine. Keep the cloth'due south border lined up with the middle of the pes.^[13]
- Refer to your machine's manual for details if you're unsure how to set it for a zigzag stitch.
- Add a few reverse stitches at the starting time and stop to knot the thread.
3
Use an overlock pes and your sewing machine to mimic a serger sew together. Remove the regular human foot of your motorcar and adhere the overlock foot in its place.^[14] Ready your machine to do an overlocking sew together. Line your cloth upward with the inner edge of the foot. Feed the fabric through the machine as usual.
- By attaching an overlock foot to your sewing auto y'all can create a stitch that looks similar to what a serger creates.
- Use a zigzag setting with the overlock foot to reach a similar finishing issue if you don't have an overlock setting on your motorcar.^[15]
- Consult your sewing machine manual for details on switching out the foot. It is usually a matter of popping it off and on, no tools required.^[16]
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Add New Question

Question

How practice I keep my delicate clothes from getting frayed when I wash them?

Kamel Almani is a Laundry and Cleaning Specialist and the Co-Owner of WashyWash, a toxin-free and eco-friendly laundry and dry clean service based in Amman, Jordan. Kamel and his staff at WashyWash use Blue Affections certified and dermatologically-tested detergents. They also combine EcoClean and digital technology to provide an eco-friendly, user-friendly, and quality cleaning service. Kamel holds a BA in Design from the University of Practical Science, Amman.

Laundry & Cleaning Specialist

Practiced Answer

Put them in a mesh bag before yous launder them. Then, use a gentle bicycle launder with a low spin, and hang them to dry—don't use a dryer.
Question

How do you stop cloth from fraying with nail polish?

This respond was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accurateness and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

Cut off the frayed edge, and so paint some clear nail polish along the border. Permit the polish dry out completely earlier y'all handle the border of the textile. Be careful non to make it besides thick, since this volition stiffen the edge of the fabric. You might need to bear on upwardly the polish after a while every bit it begins to flake off.
Question

How practice you terminate elastic from fraying?

This answer was written past one of our trained squad of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Reply

You can use a liquid fabric stabilizer, or stabilize it with a zigzag stitch. Y'all can practice the zigzag stitch either by paw or with a sewing machine.
Question

How do you keep material from fraying during prewashing?

This answer was written by one of our trained squad of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Respond

Wash the fabric on a gentle cycle with a mild detergent. You can as well attempt cut the edges with pinking shears before you wash them to minimize fraying. Make sure the cloth is unfolded before you put it in the washer, and load it loosely to prevent stress on the fabric.