fitting leggings

[Le Poilu]

I just joined this forum group so if this has already been covered elsewhere, my apologies. I have had an ongoing problem with getting a good fit for F&I-style slip-on side-seam leggings. All the pictorial representations of this style that I've seen seem to be form-fitting, as though made of spandex, but mine end up being baggy. I have read that indians often sometimes had them sewn directly on their legs & never took them off, presumably they were worn until in tatters & then replaced. This would explain the close fit but when I sewed them in this fashion as soon as I squat down I blow out the seams or get that baggy, stretched-out knee look when I stand up. It makes no difference whether they were made of either wool or leather. I know that if you want to slip them off you have to leave the ankle portion slightly over-sized but to prevent the other issues I have to leave them loose fitting up the rest of my leg. Is there a secret to reproducing this close-fit look & still get them on or off?

 

[Sunkmanitu Tanka]

I have been wondering about this too!

 

[BadHeart]

When I made mine, I stood on a stool and had my wife use a stapler from my desk and just run a row of staples down the side as tight to my leg as she could. Then when I sewed them I went in a little from the staples and they fit snug at first but got a little looser as I wore them. Now they are snug to my legs but comfortable. My first ones I did all the measuring like a few online sites listed, but when finished it looked like I was wearing stove pipes. Hope this helps. Good luck