[rebecca]

In the past, I’ve used a safety pin. But, all too often the elastic will turn on me, and I wonder if there’s a better tool for getting the job done? Thanks! (referring to threading elastic through long waistbands, and such).

[Nicole]

I bumped a thread for you!

[rebecca]

Thanks, Nicole. It referred to this thread: https://oliverands.com/forums/topic.php?id=2375 for future searchers (it didn’t come up for me, during a search). However, some of the links that people referred to were dead-ends. :/

So, here’s one: Dritz Elastic Threaders http://www.amazon.com/Dritz-9300-Elastic-Threaders-3-Pack/dp/B0060LDMTE, for anyone else on the hunt.

[dkbnyc]

I have always used a safety pin. I recently bought a bodkin, but I really don’t like using it. I find it much easier to grip the flat head of a safety pin instead of the rounded edge of the bodkin.

http://www.joann.com/dritz-bodkin-threader-and-tweezer-3in/9449356.html

[Nicole]

I like the nappy pin best too.

[Liesl Gibson]

I still love the old-fashioned safety pin method too. The bodkin seems to let go just as I’m almost to the end of the casing. But everyone has their own preferences, so I think it’s just a matter of find the method that works best for you. Nice to have all these possible ideas to try!

[Tamara]

Give me a good sized safety pin to thread elastic anyday!

[lattemama]

I prefer the safety pin too, even though I have had it come undone inside the elastic casing on me a few times (ouch). Especially if I was trying to thread an elastic that was only just the right size.

I found these online: http://www.textilhuset.se/somnad/sybehor/ovrigt/resarbandstradare-63011 – they look nifty but I have yet to try them.

[Anonymous]

I have the Dritz threaders. I just used them for the first time. I really like them. The main advantage over a safety pin is that there’s no risk that the elastic shreds and pulls away from the threader (which I’ve had happen with a safety pin). The elastic gets threaded through a series of slots that gently but securely hold on to the elastic.

The disadvantage is that the sizes are 3/4″, 1/2″, and 1/4″. I was using 3/8″ elastic, which fits in the 1/2″ threader just fine, but the threader didn’t fit through one of my casings.

[Nicole]

Baby nappy pins are the best.

Lotta, I will send you a few. They have a safety catch so they will not come undone.

Those Dritz threaders sound pretty nifty.

[Tamara]

I actually use different sized safety pins for the different sized elastic – because more often than not they also have different sized casings. I like a quilting safety pin mostly though – especially good for pants and skirts.

I had absolutely no luck with threaders – wasn’t holding my tongue right I guess!

[NikkiT]

Threading elastic used to make me crazy until I found this nifty tool. I don’t have the patience to work a bobbin through a long elastic casing.

http://www.amazon.com/Dritz-235-Drawstring-Threader-23/dp/B001B9FBO4/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1407792884&sr=8-6&keywords=elastic+threader

I love it.

[rebecca]

I tried the Dritz elastic threader on the Roller Skate dress…complete disaster. The bulk of the threader, and the elastic woven through it, wouldn’t make it through the casing. It got stuck constantly, and made the job take so much longer. I made it half-way, then cut open the side-seam to pull it out, and finished with a safety pin. Sigh. At least I didn’t stab myself for the last half of the dress (as I usually do, with a safety pin!). I’m interested in what NikkiT suggested, though. Perhaps I’ll give that one a try!

[Nicole]

This is what I use, https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/104990436/pins-cloth-diaper-pins-baby-diaper-pins?ref=market , but mine are metal.

The cap comes down so the head cannot pop open.

[EmilyG]

I agree with Nicole about nappy pins. I always use them because the smooth plastic won’t get caught on seams in the casing and there is no chance of it opening up on the inside of the casing because it locks. I also think it is more heavy duty than any safety pin I’ve seen.