Faux Leather Leggings

I bought so much of this faux leather back in February. 4 yards! I attempted a disappointing jacket with it and the rest has been sliding around my fabric stash ever since. (Seriously, this stuff is super slippery.)

I finally realized it’d be pretty great to have a pair of full-length solid black Peg Legs. I have some other black ones but one pair is capri length, another pair has a pronounced heather “space dye” look, and another pair has a subtle geometric pattern and I don’t love the waistband on those.

About the Fabric

Solid Black Faux Alligator – Performance Faux Leather from Made of Love Fabrics

4-way stretch
Don’t know much else.

The face is shiny, super smooth, and features an alligator texture. The back of the fabric looks really great, too; I used it for the legging side panels. As is typical of performance knits, it has a ton of stretch and really snappy recovery.

About This Make

Size L (no grading)
Low rise
Regular waistband
+ patch pockets
+1″ length

I have played around with this pattern so much at this point, I was buried in different pattern pieces. I had to sit down and list out each version I’ve already made and rank them against each other.

version	size	verdict
blue/white cotton lycra	M-XXS-M	tight
coral space dye	“	“
green baby french terry	S-XXS-M	no
pink cotton lycra	“	tight
coral space dye shorts	L	good
jegging	XL-S-M	tight on legs and ankles
jegging + add-ons	XL-S-L	tight on legs and ankles
gray brazilian	L	loose at knee
black space dye	L	good, ankle tight
gray plaid DBP	L	loose at hips
houndstooth DBP	M-L	tight at top waist
black brazilian	M	good
purple brazilian	M	good
black plaid DBP	M.5-L	good
pink brushed swim	M.5-L	tight at top
nike	L	too tight

So I averaged them out and landed on size large being the best bet. This litany of peg legs also led me to discover the optimal features depending on fabric:

Fabric with Loose Recovery

ex: Double Brushed Poly

Use contour waistband, modified: -1″ from center front
M.5 graded to L at knee and below

Fabric with Snappy Recovery

ex: Athletic Knits, Cotton Lycra

Use regular waistband
75%+ stretch: size M.5
<75% stretch: size L

Conclusions

It’s mostly good. I have to yank them up now and then, but I’m starting to believe that’s just a symptom of tight pants. That, or my derriere coupled with a low rise fitted pant just doesn’t offer anything for the waist to really find an anchor. I’ll deal with it, though, because I cannot stand elastic or high-rise waists.

I love the smooth texture. It’s most ideal for resisting the rain of little white dog hairs from my precious Katie.