The elastic band is present in every clothing accessory, and they are used in most the garment cuff, waistbands, garters, shoes, waist, suspenders, and other stretchy clothes. Activewear and swimwear also have elastic bands to offer a certain amount of elasticity and strength.
Fold-Over Elastic – Wholesale
is also widely used in pants, baby clothes, headbands, sweaters, underwear, sportswear, wedding dresses, hats, T-shirts, masks, aerobics clothing, and much more. The uses of bands are countless, and no clothing exists in the industry that does not use elastic bands in one way or another.
Fold-over elastic is created with 19% Lycra and 81% nylon, which makes it durable and super stretchy. The fold-over elastic does not move and stays in position while sewing. They are mostly used on necklines to give a pleated look and also on the sleeves to make them look puffed and appealing.
Pink Decorative Elastic
Fold-over elastic is more of a decorative elastic that is mostly used on the edges of the sleeves and neckline to make them look appealing and pleated. These bands are widely used in the clothing industry and created in multiple colours.
The thing that differentiates fold-over elastic from other types of elastic is that it has a small ridge that is present in the centre of the elastic band. This ridge is the reason that makes this elastic fold over into half.
This elastic does not get narrow when stretched and also does not loses its elasticity and resilience while sewing.
Uses Of Fold-Over Elastic
Fold-over elastics have endless uses, but because of their ability to fold in half, they are mostly used in garments that require elasticity and finishing, like undergarments, headwear, and neckline.
They are ideal for encasing any raw edges; that is why they are used in the waistband of undergarments. In addition to their use in lingerie, a fold-over elastic is also used in knit garments’ neckline and armhole finishing. Such elastic is increasingly used in headbands and cloth diapers apart from underwear.
The Appearance Of Fold-Over Elastic
As mentioned before, fold-over elastic have a seam that runs along the middle of the elastic and helps it to fold in half. The elastic has a finished size that is usually shiny, and the other side of the elastic is known as the wrong side, which is matte.
Fold-over elastic can be utilized as bias binding that has the required recovery and stretch. This elastic can be easily sewn with minimum narrowing down when stretched. They are usually sold by the meter, and they can be purchased in multiple measurements of width as well as textures. Commonly fold, over elastic is about 20mm when it is not stretched.
How To Use Or Work With Fold-Over Elastic?
The fold-over elastic is placed in the centre of the fabric edges with the raw fabric edge, and the two sides are sewn. Both sides of the fold-over elastic are sewn on the fabric edges with a zigzag stitch, which is most commonly used with this type of elastic.
How To Sew Fold-Over Elastic?
Here are some tips that will help you to stitch fold-over elastic to the fabric. So let us get down to it.
Firstly it is important that you choose the right finish and width of fold-over elastic according to the requirements of your project. The common width of fold-over elastic is ½ inches, 5/8 inches, 1 inch, and 1-1/2 inches.
If you have deiced to utilize the fold-over elastic for edge binding, then you should keep this thing in mind folding the width of the elastic in half might result in losing the cute print of the elastic, although most undergarments are made by folding the fold-over elastic in half.
If the pattern you were using does not allow you to use the fold-over elastic, then you should eliminate the allowance of the seam of any garment edges. Fold-over elastic is often directly sewn on the raw fabric edges so that the fabric is not hemmed or sewn over.
You should flat sew the fold-over elastic-like in the leg holes before the side of the seams is stitched. This allows and helps you to control the process and allow more elasticity or stretch, specifically for the smaller garments.
The stitching of the fold-over elastic should be right so that the stretching or elasticity is the same in the garments and the elastic band.
The correct stitch for sewing fold-over elastic is a regular zigzag or the three-step zigzag.
Conclusion
Fold-over elastic is widely used in the clothing industry, and its primary use is for decorative purposes. They have a ridge in the middle that allows them to fold over. They are also sometimes called FOE and are present in undergarments, sleeves, edges, and necklines. On the neckline and sleeves, they add an appealing and cute look that most people like so this is fold-over elastics’ main decorative purpose.
