How to Make the Perfect Pair of Leggings

Trace the Front Half

Take your leggings and flip them inside out so you can see all the inside seams that run up the leg and around the edges. Fold your leggings in half at the center waistline, leading down to the crotch seam. Lay your folded leggings with the front side facing up on top of your pattern paper. My pair had a logo and tag on the back, so it was easy for me to differentiate the front vs. the back.

Pull the edges of the seams straight until you have a clear shape that’s traceable, and pin to hold. Trace this shape onto the pattern paper with a visible marker or pencil.

You may notice when straightening out the seams that the back side around the waistband wants to peek out a bit from the front — this is because it’s common for adult leggings to have extra room in the back! Tuck these sections under, or even pin them out of the way, so you have a clear view of the front part you need to trace.

Trace the Back Half

Unfold the leggings and refold them in half where the back is facing up this time (so for me, tag up!). Place the folded leggings along the longest edge of the shape you just traced, as if they were mirrored to the other side. Straighten out the seams and pin to hold like before, then trace the shape. You should now have one large pattern piece with 2 halves that are almost symmetrical. The back half should have a little more space between the waist and the crotch.

Add Pattern Guidelines

Use a ruler to draw a border 5/8” (1.5 cm), the standard seam allowance for sewing apparel, from the edge around the shape you just drew.

Add any guideline marks on your pattern piece that may help you during the sewing process. For mine, I chose to add:

• An arrow indicating which orientation to lay my stretch fabric when cutting
• “Leggings Cut x2” since I need to cut out two of these from my fabric
• Lines to mark where different hemlines could sit — you can make leggings, capris or bicycle shorts simply by altering the leg length!
• “Front” and “back” on the sides to indicate front vs. back

If you’d like to sew in a separate waistband, mark a line from the top of the waistline 2″ (5 cm) down, or whatever width you’d like your band to be.

Cut the Pattern Out

Cut your final leggings shape out. If you chose to include a separate waistband in step 3, cut this piece off of the top. You should have two pattern pieces: one main leg and one waistband.

Congrats, you have a working leggings pattern! Now it’s time to cut and sew the fabric together.

Cut the Fabric

Take your leg pattern piece and pin it to the Sport Lycra or other stretch fabric. Cut out two of these shapes.

Place the waistband pattern piece on the fold of your fabric with the fold lined up against the short edge of the pattern. Flip the pattern to the other side, similar to how we mirrored the leggings pattern, and mark double the width. So, for my 2″ (5 cm) waistband it would be 4″ (10 cm). Trace around the other edge until you have a rectangle, then cut this piece out.

Sew the Inseam

Place both of your leg pieces right sides (printed sides) together and pin. With a 5/8″ (1.5 cm) seam allowance, sew the curved edges only with a zigzag or other stretch-friendly stitch.

Sew the Sides Together

Open the legs piece with the seam in the center and lay it down flat.

Align the crotch seams right sides together and pin in place, then pin down each leg. Your pins should form a giant “U” shape in the end. Wow, these already look like leggings!

From the crotch seam down, sew each side. Flip your leggings right side out and set aside.

Sew the Waistband

Fold the waistband in half with short edges lined up and right sides facing, then pin together and sew in place. Flip this right side out so the clean seam is facing outwards and fold in half again, bringing the long edges together with wrong sides facing. You should have a ready-to-go waistband piece with all raw edges at the bottom and a clean edge at the top.

If you did not choose to include a separate waistband you can simply fold the edge of the leggings waistline over 1/2″ (1 cm), and then 1/2″ (1 cm) again, to create a double hem.

Attach the Waistband to the Leggings

Slide the waistband, clean edges first, over the leggings waistline until all raw edges are aligned, making sure to line up the waistband and back seams for a clean look. Pin this in place and sew around the waistline.

Hem the Ankles

Flip your leggings inside out again, fold the bottom edge up about 1/4″ (1/2 cm) and pin in place. Since Sport Lycra doesn’t fray, I’m able to leave the raw edge exposed with no problems. Sew around the ankle close to the raw edge and repeat for the other leg.