What to do with spare elastic - glove links, pen holders, expanding waists. Dress blog Post 691 by Angela Lansbury.

First I had no elastic. Then I started saving it from discarded clothes. You can save good stretchy elastic, partially good bit cut off, or no longer elastic pieces which have shed their stretchy bits leaving you with lacey ribbon. I have wide elastic pieces from skirt and pyjama waistbands. Thin pieces come from the edges of underwear.

I started buying white and black elastic when I saw it reasonably priced. 

Now I have trouble finding it when I need it. So I collected it in glass jam jars. 

I have found two used for wide elastic and narrow elastic.

 You may have elastic from clothing which has worn out. Saved from waistbands and knicker legs. Or you might have bought more than you need.

Stored Elastic

1 Store it in a place where you can quickly find it. Either in your one sewing box. Or in a glass jam jar with a label.

2  Use wide pieces to replace worn out waistbands. Use it to expand items which are too small on the waist.

Elastic Linking Ribbons To Gloves

3 Use it as a neat link to ribbons which join pairs of gloves belonging to children or adults.

Using Elastic To Make Pen Holders for notebooks

I had some notebooks with elastic place holders

Other notebooks had pen holders.I loved these features and wanted them on my existing notebooks.

4 Use a long piece in a loop around a notebook or diary pages vertically.

5 Use a narrow elastic to hold pens or pencils to a diary or notebook.  Make a small horizontal loop to attach half way down the back cover on the far right. 

a Fold the loop around the centre of the pen. 

b Cut the elastic to the correct length, with the ends on top of each other just inside the edge of the notebook.

c Use a stapler to attach the loop.

You may want to decide if you need the edges of the staple carefully pushed together. Or turn the book cover the other way so the ends of the metal are on the inside. Or put a blob of mail varnish on top if the ends are sharp.

You might sew or glue instead, as well, or afterwards, or on other books. 

You could also make a page holder or bookmark from a long vertical piece of elastic on any textbook. Or a work of fiction, to hold your place when travelling.

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