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I tried in vain to find any
instructions on how to alter the underwear to add the velcro, with some
pictures, but did not have any luck... I don't have any sewing
abilities beyond some basic hand stitching, so I was pretty terrified
about the whole process. All the pictures are thumbnails, and if
you click on them, they will open up to full sized pictures so you can
see all the details.
I hope someone can use this
information to gain some confidence, and to help them not be
afraid to try this on their own :) I know that I would have had a
much easier time with some step by step instructions with pictures to
help me visualize what I needed to do. Thankfully, function is the
aim so it doesn't have to be award winning sewing!
The first thing you have to do
is hope that your child likes briefs, instead of boxer briefs like my
son, LOL... Less fabric means less work! Other than that, you would
take a pair of scizzors and split open the side of the underwear.
IF you are lucky enough to have a "real" seam, a seam splitter
can help you undo the stitches instead, and you have a MUCH neater and
more professional look. Unfortunately, we were not this lucky with
the underwear or swimsuit (although I did get lucky with a pair of gym
shorts!) so they do look a bit ragged. Since there was no
actual seam, I used one of the sewing machine's wider embroidery stitches
to create a barrier next to the edge so that the material would not
fray...
After you stitch the rough
sides, you need to add velcro. You can buy this at a sewing store
like JoAnn Fabrics, or most likely a craft store like Michael's or AC
Moore. You need the sew on type, the sticky kind will not stay
on. I got the 3/4 inch wide tape, and cut it to the needed
size. Because I didn't feel like wasting too much, I only
made the velcro long enough to cover from the waist down to the top of
the leg, and let the bottom of the shorts open. So far, they are
holding up okay in the wash :)
You want to put the hard
plastic velcro side on the piece of fabric facing AWAY from the skin, and
put straight pins on the left hand side of the velcro to hold it in place
while you sew. Then, using the straight stitch on the sewing
machine, you start your stitch just above the right hand edge of the
velcro, run it a bit down the "bare" edge of the velcro, then
hit the back button to go back over the stitch to "tack it" and
then complete the stitch down the bare edge of the velcro down to the
bottom. Then you want to back your stitch up again and then
complete to bottom of velcro to tack it "closed"
also. Then, you can take your pins out and do the left hand
side. If you are wondering why I did the right, then the left, it
is easier to not get the pins tangled under the "foot" of the
sewing machine when they are on the left hand side of the velcro ;)
After this, you pin your soft
velcro side in the same position (hold them side by side) on the
INSIDE of the underwear. Then sew the right side of that,
followed by the left side.
Another thing I did is add
snaps to the side of a pair of gym shorts... the gym shorts had a
"real" seam, so I was able to rip the stitching out while
preserving the edge of the fabric. After ripping the thread out, I
used straight stitches (by hand this time, since the edge was VERY
narrow) to rebind the individual seams. Then I got some small
snaps, and hand sewed them into place. At the very top, you can see
a large snap. That one is a four part snap. There is the
inside of the snaps, that connect together, and then an outer ring with
sharp prongs. You would place the inner snap part on the inside of
the fabric, and from the outside of the fabric, place the outer ring with
the prongs going through the fabric and into the inner ring. Then
you would use a craft hammer to bang the edges of the outer ring INTO the
inner ring to "fuse" them together. (I used a real hammer
the first time, but it was overkill, and hard to control.) Then,
repeat with the other side.
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