Closing in on The Perfect Leggings Fit (Peg Legs)

Just soooo many pairs of Peg Legs. Tracing and retracing and retracing and retracing trying to figure out the fit I like, which changes with each different fabric I use.

But I have at least landed on a favorite fabric (DBP) which means dialing in the fit will be easier, and these DBP Houndstooth Peg Legs get me another step closer.

Peg Legs // Houndstooth Double Brushed Poly Spandex from So Sew English

The Options

All my Pegs prior to this have been made with the low rise and regular waistband options, and I find myself having to tug them up throughout the day. So for this go, I gave the contoured waistband a try.

• low rise
• contoured waistband
• side panel + patch pocket
• +1″ length
• Graded M (waist) to L (knee)

The Challenges

The medium contoured waistband looks pretty small once it’s sewn together, so before attaching it, I checked the fit and it’s a good thing I did because my usual lightning stitch settings failed pretty hard. There was not nearly enough stretch, and just pulling it over my body popped the stitches. I had also topstitched to keep the lining from rolling (which was optional) so that didn’t help matters.

I cut a new waistband and used my #10 stitch to sew the seam attaching the main fabric to the lining around the top of the waist. My machine manual just calls this a Knit Stitch. It worked much better. It created adequate stretch to slide the waistband onto my body, and adequate strength to prevent any popping of stitches if over-stretched.

What Needs Tweaking

• The seam along the top of the waistband is still not stretchy enough. It has a definite maximum stretch that I can feel while wearing, which creates an uncomfortable “digging” feeling along that seamline. I made note of that for my next pair.
• I also don’t like the shape of the top front of the waistband. It rides too high for my comfort, so for my next pair, I plan to scoop that down about an inch.
• Size-wise, I think my happy place is somewhere between medium and large at the top. I’m happy with the sizing of the legs though.

Project Settings