Adjustable - giving 12 cm between minimum and maximum waist measurements of the garment;
Elastic - allows the garment to be pulled on and off;
Breathable - it uses elastic cords instead of flat band elastic, which leads to superior breathability and faster drying time;
Plus additional feature of this system is that the elastic cord can be easily replaced, when worn out, with no sewing required. See repair instructions here, under 'waist belt shortening' - https://www.functionalclothinglab.com/12032-pants-instructions
System constituents:
System is made of two rows of elastic cord, running along the back and sides, and the webbing assembly in the front part.
Elastic provides the needed stretch and webbing assembly provides adjustability and dimensional stability at the front.
System elasticity:
Two rows of elastic cord running 20 mm apart instead of flat elastic. Use of cords allow to dramatically decrease the surface area and the bulk, compare to flat elastic band, while keeping elasticity at the same level.
Moreover it is a one continuous cord, passed through webbing piece that is used for adjustment (let’s call it ‘tail’) and cord’s ends are tied to each other inside webbing loop at the other end of webbing assembly.
The cord is passed through 4 openings. Those openings could be finished with metallic eyelets or, as a bit less neat, but more low profile option, it could be finished with plain stitches around the hole:
System adjustability:
Webbing assembly consists of main piece, running between points where cord emerges on the garment surface. Main piece is needed to add rigidity to light fabrics, and also to avoid fabric being bunched up when adjusting. In the middle of it there is a tri-glide buckle attached, also two vertical belt loops are attached on one side.
‘Tail’ webbing piece is threaded through belt loops and the buckle.
If you want to use this system on your pants/skirt you can purchase a set of detailed instructions:
With your purchase you will get access to a private online whiteboard, where more nerdy details can be found and where you can leave comments with questions about any operation and I'll personally answer it.