Now that I have an awesome patchwork waistcoat and matching flatcap, I need some trousers to complete the ensemble. Jeans are the obvious choice, but it needs to be something a bit more than just jeans. I need to put a bit of work into some old jeans to make them really work for this outfit. For this project, I want to take some worn-out jeans in need of fixing and adjust them to fit the cut of the waistcoat. The modified jeans will no longer have belt-loops, so I plan to replace them with side adjusters, normally a feature of much more formal trousers.

Here’s the big issue: My new waistcoat follows Mr. Regal’s drafting instructions, but those assume high-waisted trousers are the norm, as they were when the book was published. Men’s jeans don’t often come in high-waisted varieties anymore. They don’t show up at any of the thrift stores that I peruse, anyway.

Luckily, I have a couple of pairs that are in need of some repairs anyway. So, let’s see about making some alterations. First up, this pair:

Other than the hole in the knee and some regular wear, they’re in pretty good shape. The hole is easy enough to patch, I have some canvas that will work nicely. They’re already a good length on me, I don’t want to do anything to change that.

Expanding the Jeans Waistband

I want the waistband to go higher, why don’t I just make it bigger? This is, conceptually, simple but introduces all kinds of fun new complications. Hooray!

Step one, I unpick the seams holding the waistband onto the pants. Then I can just unfold the waistband, iron it flat, and trace that out onto some scrap cotton or linen to serve as a new lining.

Easy, right?

Except, wait a minute. The beltloops were in the way of unpicking the waistband. With the waistband now twice as tall as it used to be, they won’t fit back in place properly. How do I tighten these now?

Since I’ve removed the belt loops, it behooves me to find a new method of tightening the waistband to fit me. As a solution, I’ve decided to add side-tab waist adjusters to the waistband.

Jeans With Side Adjusters

Yes, I’m really doing this.

Side adjusters (or side-tabs) are normally popular on formal trousers. You’ll find them on several varieties of suit trousers, particularly with dinner suits, and tuxedo pants. Where you won’t find side adjusters is on jeans. So, of course, that means I have no choice but to go ahead and be the first. You won’t even find them on Canadian tuxedo pants!

The side tab itself is being made from strap adjusters from an old backpack. The same backpack that generously donated the canvas I’m using to patch the knee, in fact. The strap is made from some very sturdy webbing and already has a nice, metal adjuster sewn in place. It’s even pretty close to the perfect length.

I folded the waistband in half and then half again and marked to locations, one quarter the way around the waistband from the center-front. These marks should roughly correspond with the side-seams. I then measured two inches forward and back from those marks, leaving a four inch opening for the side adjuster.

I used my machines button-hole setting to turn those marks into openings that I could feed the adjuster through.

One end of the adjuster is stitched down at the center back. The other is looped around and fed stitched down a few inches from the center front. Just enough to not get in the way of the buttons.

Repeat on the other side, the two side adjusters meet in the middle.

Finishing The Waistband

With that done, I can finish stitching on the lining and then reattach the waistband.

The lining is attached first. I traced out the shape of the waistband with the seam allowances folded down, then added the seam allowance back onto it. Once the lining was interfaced, I folded the seam allowance down where the waistband lines already were shown and pressed, then attached the top to the waistband. Basically, I was too lazy to stitch and then topstitch this seam.

Using the existing buttonholes as a guide, I cut through the lining and finished the buttonholes by hand.

Now I could reattach the modified waistband to the jeans and add the new buttons. The old seam was clearly visible and served as a guide during the process. After closing the center front seams, the new waistband was finished.

Conclusion: I Made Some Very Silly Jeans

They make me very happy.

The new waistband is, as expected, about twice as tall as the old one. This isn’t exactly the same as turning the midrise waist into highrise, but it does come pretty close to adding that height. The new side adjusters make the jeans suitably comfortable to wear.

Most importantly, my shirt no longer risks poking out when I wear these pants with the vest, so I’m comfortably calling this one a success.