Child's Stirrup Leggings

Stirrup Leggings

Difficulty Level = Beginner

These leggings have one seam per leg and an encased elastic waistband. It has a foot stirrup at the hem so that the heel and toes can be exposed. This keeps your pants comfortably in place while bending and stretching whether that is for yoga, or reaching for the remote.

If it is too bulky in shoes, or you just have a need, the stirrups can be worn pushed up on your leg, just like footless leggings.

Our Facebook group is a great place to get help, share your tips and creations! We are a friendly bunch, and we love to help and see what you have made.

Please read the full instructions before getting started.

Wash, dry, and press your fabric before starting your project. A bit of prep now prevents shrinking and means your garment will stay the same size you made it.

Never leave a child or baby unattended or allow to sleep in a garment made from one of our patterns with ties, snaps, buttons, or anything they could remove, choke on, or get caught on. Always use caution if you are unsure. We love our patterns, but we love your bundles of joy more!

Size Range

12mo - 12yrs

Size Chart

This pattern is drafted to the sizes listed below. If your child is between sizes, choose the larger size and adjust the pattern to remove the extra width/height to achieve the intended fit.

Finished Measurements (Inches)

These are form fitting Stirrup Leggings with negative ease at the waist. This means the finished garment measurements will be less than in the size chart. They are designed for lycra knit (stretch) fabric so they can stretch around your body and fit comfortably without falling down.

• Sizing – Sizing is different in different countries and stores, so please measure your model before picking your size. The ready-to-wear size your model normally fits into may be different from our size chart.

• Picking your size – Choose your size from the height measurements from the size chart. Measure around your foot and check this measurement against the finished measurement. The measurement should be less than your actual measurement as the Leggings have a negative ease so that it fits correctly and doesn’t fall off. Adjust at the seam.
• Height – The height for each size range is indicated in the size chart above.

• • Everybody varies in their proportions and some people might find their legs or rise (crotch) are shorter or longer than how this pattern has been drafted. We highly recommend a muslin for any fitted pant pattern (see below) to adjust to your personal body.
  • Before your muslin, it is a great idea to measure your inseam. Stand up straight and measure where the crotch seam will hit all the way down the inside of the leg. Compare this measurement to the finished inseam measurement above, to help make adjustments for height.
• Nappies – This pattern has been drafted to fit ages 12-24 months wearing nappies. If your child wears cloth nappies and/or is older and wearing nappies, you will need to adjust your leg pieces. You will need to add into the rise on the Front and Back Legs. Along the rise you need to adjust, cut into it and spread the pattern to meet the measurement you need.  Smooth out your rise and you’re good to start!  As always, start with a muslin or toile to test fit until you find the perfect fit for your figure!

• Follow this tutorial for any further fitting advice.
• Muslin – I recommend you sew a muslin (test garment) first so you can get the perfect fit:

• • Use an inexpensive woven/lycra knit fabric similar in weight and stretch to the final fabric you plan to use.
  • Baste all the pieces together using a ⅜ inch seam allowance.
  • Try on. If you are happy with the fit, continue to your final garment.
  • If you feel the fit needs adjusting for your personal shape, turn the muslin inside out and try on again. Adjust the seams with pins/clips until you are happy.
  • Trim your new seam allowances to ⅜ of an inch and pull out your basting stitches.
  • These resulting pieces are your pattern pieces instead of the original pattern pieces. Continue to sew your final garment.
  • Make sure to keep your adjusted pattern pieces in case you wish to make more!
• If you get stuck with fitting, see our favorite resources on our Pinterest Sewing Fitting Advice board.

Fabric – These Stirrup Leggings have been designed for 4-way stretch knit fabrics with 5-12% lycra/elastane to create a snug fit. Your fabric also needs to have at least 40% Stretch. Lycra gives extra stretch and has excellent recovery. Great choices are cotton lycra, nylon lycra, jersey polyester lycra. Increasing the amount of Lycra/elastane will provide a tighter, more compression feel to the fit.

Fabric Requirements 60 inches/150 cm wide (in YARDS)

* If you are using a narrower fabric, a directional print, or a fabric with nap you may need more.

** Make sure to wash, dry, and press all fabrics before cutting out in case they shrink.

You will also need:

• Waistband Elastic – minimum width of 1 inch wide, however you can use different widths to create different looks. Approximately 1 yard will be sufficient for all sizes.
• Thread to match

Tools needed are sewing machine, scissors, pins or clips, cutting mat, tape measure. Optional serger/overlocker.

Settings

The pattern is a separate download. Choose either the US letter paper, A4 paper, or A0 paper size based on the printer you wish to use. If you are in the US or Canada then your printer will likely use US letter paper. Other regions normally use A4 paper. Some people prefer to print their patterns at a print shop: A0 is best in this case.

Print at 100%.

On the second page, you will find a 1-inch and a 3-inch square test box. Print this page first, on its own, and measure these squares.

Once you are happy that the test box is accurate, print the rest of the pattern pages.

Please follow this video for information and assistance on assembling this pattern.

Also, please note that some Rebecca Page patterns and projects also come with cut files and a printable design page which you can use to plan your project if you wish. These are provided in a separate section below to avoid any confusion! 

Cut each of the pieces according to the directions on the pattern piece. Seam allowances are all included so just cut them as is.

Cutting Charts – All pattern pieces are included, however if you prefer to cut using a cutting chart, the dimensions for the rectangular pieces (in INCHES) are below:

Cutting Checklist:

• Leg – Fabric cut 2 (1x mirror image pair)
• Foot Stirrup – Fabric cut 2

Tips for Sewing with Knit Fabrics

Using a serger is not a necessity to sew with knit fabrics! Here are a few tips to get the best results on a regular sewing machine:

• Use a ball point needle of a size appropriate to your fabric when working with knits – The ball point needle has a slightly rounded tip and will prevent from damaging the fibre. Use ball point pins or clips and, if you can’t, use regular pins into the seam allowance and you should be just fine.
• Use a stretch stitch – You can use either a short and narrow zigzag or a stretch stitch (lightning bolt stitch) for construction. Test on a scrap of fabric to find which stitch and tension settings work best for you. You don’t want the fabric to pucker under your stitches.
• Your machine might have many fancy stretch stitches and you are welcome to play with them, but often the basic zigzag or stretch stitch are just right.
• Use a walking foot – Using a walking-foot is not a necessity but it is highly recommended when working on a stretchy knit. The walking-foot helps to prevent one layer of fabric from stretching out while sewing. Both layers of fabrics are fed at the same time under your needle.
• Reduce your presser foot tension – Some machines will allow you to change your presser foot tension. Check your manual to see how to reduce your presser foot tension. Reducing tension will prevent your fabric from stretching while it goes through the machine.
• Use a ball point twin-needle (double needle) for top stitching – Using a twin-needle will give you a regular double line of straight stitches on the right side and a short and stretchy zigzag on the wrong side. Alternately, if you don’t own a twin needle, you can use a medium size zigzag stitch for hemming and topstitching. I like to lengthen my stitch a little when top stitching with the twin needle. Test on a scrap of fabric to find what works best for you.
• Finishing the seams – Because knits don’t fray, it isn’t strictly necessary to finish your seams. That being said, you will achieve a more polished and durable look if you do an overcasting or zigzag stitch on your raw edges.

Here is an example of some of the stitches you could use.

From left to right: Ballpoint twin-needle, narrow zigzag, stretch stitch (lightning bolt), overcasting

⅜ inch seam allowance included – Basting ¼ inch – Hem ½ inch

Sewing –

1. FOOT STIRRUP – Finish one long edge of a Foot Stirrup, and hem of a Leg. Lay Leg right side up. Place Foot Stirrup right sides together. Stitch from outer seam on front to marking. Press seam open. Fold unstitched edges of Leg and Foot Stirrup ⅜ inch to wrong side. Stitch. Repeat for second Leg piece.
2. LEGS – Fold Leg and Foot Stirrup right sides together, matching inseams. Baste across Foot Stirrup and Leg. Stitch. Repeat for second Leg. Turn one Leg right side out. Slide inside other Leg, right sides together, matching front and back rise. Stitch. OPTIONAL Topstitch ⅛ inch from the stitch line, over the seam allowance, along rise. Fold bottom hem of Foot Stirrup ½ inch to wrong side and press. Stitch. Repeat to hem second Foot Stirrup.
3. WAIST ELASTIC – Overlap elastic by 1 inch and stitch. Mark quarter points on elastic and waist edge. Slide elastic inside matching points. Stitch. Fold to inside and stitch.

Congratulations, your Stirrup Leggings are done. Enjoy!

We would love to hear how you got on and see photos of your finished project!

Join us at our Facebook Group, tag us on Instagram, or use the hashtag #rpstirrupleggings.

Thank you for using a Rebecca Page pattern.

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