Fake Drawstrings and Adjustable Waist Pants (Sewing Tutorial)

You know when one day you realize that every pair of your kids' pants are too short? And you get him some new ones, making sure to get the ones with drawstrings so you know they'll adjust small enough to fit his waist, even though he's average size and all the pants SHOULD fit him anyway but you know they won't because they are always made for someone with a much more rotund belly? 

I know you know what I'm talking about. If not, just pretend you do. So then you get home with your loot, relieved to be done and hoping he doesn't grow for a good long time, only to realize that EVERY.... yes I said EVERY single drawstring is FAKE?!? 

Yes, every single drawstring in the above photo is fake. There is something wrong with the world. So now your choices are either:

A- return these fake, pathetic pants to the store, hang your head in failure and start over, even though apparently there are no real drawstrings to be found anyway...

B- let your kid run around with his pants around his ankles

C- remember that one time you were reading this on Tracy's Treasury and thank your lucky stars that she gave you a tutorial about how to add an adjustable waist to any pair of pants!Although altering is THE most annoying sewing on the planet, it was the quickest fix to my problem. If you aren't familiar with adjustable waist pants, they look something like this: 

until you yank on the elastic and re-adjust it to make the pants as small as they need to be. Then you can re-button as your kid grows, so the pants grow with him: 

Ever since I discovered adjustable waist pants, they're the ONLY thing I buy for my boys' jeans and khakis, but for the run-around-comfy-cotton pants... they don't sell adjustable waists... just a bunch of fake drawstrings and some laughably-too-large elastic waistbands.

Now before you think my kid must just be a beanpole to have this problem, I will tell you that he's right smack in the middle of average sized for both height and weight, meaning that he should be able to shop "off the rack" and his poor mom shouldn't be racking her brains over altering his clothes. If you know a clothing manufacturer personally, please send them my way. I'd love to do some consulting for them, because I think they're crazy and need some major help.

But if you would like to know how to add an adjustable waist to nearly any pair of pants, then

CLICK HERE TO VIEW OR DOWNLOAD TUTORIAL!

And here's the best pant model I've ever met in my life: (he really knows how to work it)