We stretch denim shorts at the hips and waist
The situation when denim shorts become too small is familiar to many. There are 2 reasons for this: the denim fabric, consisting of cotton, has undergone significant shrinkage during washing; the acquired extra kilo or two makes itself felt.
Or it happens that excellent shorts, bought without trying on, or ordered from an online store, please everyone: style, color, finishing, but turn out to be too tight in the hips and waist. You can save and “bring back to life” your favorite item, as well as adapt new shorts you like to your size. There are several effective ways to stretch and enlarge denim.
3 ways to effectively and quickly stretch denim shorts
The simplest and fastest method that will allow you to increase the size of denim shorts by 1-2 sizes is to naturally stretch the fibers of the fabric.
Reference! When washed, cotton fiber can be shortened by 4–7%, which significantly affects the change in the size of the finished product (about 2 cm for every 50 cm).
You can restore lost centimeters of an item by reverse deformation. Cotton absorbs moisture well and its fibers become more elastic. By stretching them and fixing them in a taut state, you can give the product the desired size.
Stretching denim shorts is quite easy. Unlike trousers, you will have to put in less effort - only in the waist and hips.
Manual method - wearing wet shorts for a long time
The simplest, but no less effective way to stretch denim shorts is to wear them wet for a while. Let's look at this method step by step:
- Moisten denim shorts with water using a spray bottle.
- Put on your shorts. If you cannot fasten them while standing, this can be done in a lying position. If the shorts do not stretch at all, then for better sliding you should lather yourself in the hip area.
- Wear wet shorts on yourself for a while, making active movements: squats, bends, leg swings.
- Once you feel comfortable wearing the shorts, you can remove them and dry them naturally.
If weather conditions do not allow you to wear wet shorts, you can stretch the shorts with your hands. To do this, you also need to moisten the product, fasten all the fasteners and pull them in the place where they are small - in the belt or hips. You can fix one side with your foot and apply force with your hands.
Advice! For better stretch of denim, it is recommended to pre-wash the product using fabric softener. This will make the fibers of the material softer and more elastic.
Mechanical - use of a special retainer (expander)
The method of stretching shorts, which does not require physical effort but special equipment, is mechanical. A special device - an expander for sewing products - will allow you to stretch the product to the desired size. To do this, you also need to moisten the shorts and, using a stretching device, leave them to dry in this form. A product fixed in an extended position retains its specified size after drying.
In the absence of an extender for stretching denim shorts, you can make do with improvised means: pull the wet product over the back of a chair or other object of suitable size and leave it until completely dry.
Thermal - steaming fabric using an iron
The cotton that makes up denim lends itself well to increasing the length of the fibers during heat treatment. Using this method, you can stretch denim shorts to the desired size using an iron or clothes steamer.
A moistened product can stretch when ironed through wet gauze. By stretching the fabric using an iron along the grain and applying additional force with your hands, you can increase the size of the shorts at the hips and waist.
Similarly, a product moistened with hot steam using a steamer can be stretched with your hands or put on yourself. Put on steamed shorts immediately, making sure they have cooled slightly to avoid getting burned. After fixing the clothes in the desired size, you need to wait for them to dry completely.
Enlarging a product using a sewing machine
If the denim shorts are so small that they cannot be stretched using the above methods, you can enlarge the product by sewing.Clothes transformed in this way can have additional benefits - updated design and improved appearance.
Invisible reduction in seam allowances
Shorts that are narrow at the hips and waist are increased by 2 sizes by reducing the allowances of all vertical seams and darts. To do this, you need to perform the following manipulations:
- Rip the product along the seams that determine the size at the hips and waist.
- Mark new joints on the seam allowances, having previously calculated the new size and evenly distributed the required centimeters.
- Connect the parts of the shorts using a sewing machine along the marked connection lines on the seam allowances.
- Iron new seams on the changed item.
How to sew in inserts discreetly
Currently, things made from combined materials have become fashionable. The combination of denim with contrasting textures of satin, leather, and suede is especially popular. This innovation should be used to increase a product that is tight at the hips and waist to the desired size.
By opening the shorts along the side seams and inserting strips of a different fabric on both sides, you can not only increase the width, but also update and update their appearance. No one will guess that fashionable stripes are not the designer’s idea, but your own creativity.
By transforming the product in this way, you can give a “second life” to your favorite shorts and continue to wear them in a new incarnation.
Expanding denim shorts using decorative elements - lace, appliqués, zippers
Spectacular decorative elements of clothing, such as lace, appliqué, zipper, lacing, will help disguise the expansion of denim shorts to the required size.
To implement the idea, the shorts are carefully ripped apart at the side seams.Additional strips of decorative material are sewn to the seam allowances for the width that is missing to the required size. This will help expand the item and complement it with a spectacular decoration.
Advice! In order not to damage the fabric when ripping the seams of the product, you should use a special ripper knife. You can purchase such a device at a store that sells sewing supplies.
By showing ingenuity and imagination, you can give denim shorts the desired size, improve their appearance, create a unique design and add an original designer item to your wardrobe.
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