Non-roll elastic – any other uses?
Hi Everyone,
I’m a newbie here, so I’ll introduce myself. My name is Tabitha, and I’m a homeschooling mom of 3 girls. I’ve recently picked up sewing after a 3-4 year break. I made my own nursing/breastfeeding clothes for a while, and now I am making cloth diapers for my baby.
The question I have is about non-roll elastic. Can it only be used for waistbands? Our local fabric store is closing and has some nice liquidation prices. I picked up several packages of Stretchrite non-roll knit elastic in hopes to use it for both the leg and waist casings on my diapers. Will it work okay for leg casings? I do my elastic a few ways. Depending on how I feel at the time, I either leave it free in a casing or I stretch and stitch (securing the ends either way I do it). I’m hoping the non-roll really isn’t strictly for waistbands!
Thanks!
Replies
Is this the kind of elastic that you have?
http://www.greenberg-hammer.com/store.asp?ItemID=510
I'd use this mostly in casings. It seems less willing to recover its smaller size after being sewn down, or perhaps I haven't figured out a reliable formula for number of inches to subtract from a waist measurement. I think in a casing it would be fine around the leg.
Galey again. For this kind of elastic, I pull and stretch the entire length and then put in hot water, hang to dry and you have a more resilient product.
I think a non roll elastic might be a little stiff around a little ones tender legs. I make lycra dancewear once in a while and have to be very careful about the elastic and how it applied around the leg opening in the crotch area. I would not use non roll elastic there.
If you have little children you will use it up for waistbands, ankle and wrist cuffs sooner than you can imagine.
I like to use the non-roll elastic on mattress pads and sheets to help them fit our odd-sized waterbeds. It also worked well in fabric covered shoulder straps for sundresses, at the hem of fleece pullovers, and enclosed within a knit cuff for jackets and sweaters. It works well at the bottom of midriff summer tops, too. I've also used it to secure picnic table cloths, make costume headbands, and to keep rolled blinds neat in storage. If I found a cheap source, I'd probably buy quite a bit, but not so much that it would stick around for 10 years, as any rubber in it would degrade by then!
However, I agree with the others that you probably don't want to use it anywhere the wearer is bendy; it's firm and a bit uncomfortable at joints, especially on little ones.
Why not try cotton swimsuit elastic or clear elastic for the babywear. It is softter and tolerates the water well. If the swimsuit elastic can tolerate the chlorine in pools it may be okay to bleach also.
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