How To Stretch Out Leggings To Fit More Comfortably

Key Takeaways

• Try using a hairdryer to stretch out selected areas, or wear wet leggings to mold them to your body. Learn eleven ways how to stretch out leggings with some simple techniques and tools available in every household.
• If leggings were to be ironed at too high of a temperature, they could shrink; wringing them out could over-stretch them. Check out how to make leggings bigger for you comfortably without compromising the integrity of the fabric.

What Are Your Leggings Made From?

Knowing how to stretch leggings is mainly based on the kind of material they are made from. The reason this is important is that different fabrics, or, rather, different fibers, require different ways of stretching and taking care of.

A quick check on the care label will give you a definite idea about what your leggings are made from. Most leggings are crafted from stretchy materials like polyester, nylon, spandex, and polypro.

Spandex, which is also termed as Lycra or Lycra spandex, may be one of the most stretchable fabrics added to allow leggings to stretch up to six times their length and snap back into shape after wear.

Resistance wear like nylon, polyester, and polypro keeps your leggings durable and breathable to make your skin cooler and more comfortable while you are working out. 

Butt-lifting high-waisted yoga leggings made from breathable nylon and spandex by JoyScore.

How To Prepare To Stretch Your Leggings

Read the care label of your pantyhose first before stretching; some would require washing in cold water only and drying in the shade. Next, you shall have to prepare everything you need for a successful execution, namely: lukewarm water, sink or basin, conditioner, and a clean towel.

How To Stretch Your Leggings For A Better Fit

1. Soak Your Pantyhose In Warm Water And Stretch Them

Soak your pantyhose in warm water.

Soak your pantyhose in a sink or bathtub of warm-but-not-hot water for 20-30 minutes to relax the fibers and loosen them. After soaking, make soft stretches in areas where you want room, such as your thighs or calves.

Be sure not to stretch your leggings unevenly since you can easily distort their shape. After stretching, lay out the pantyhose on a clean surface flat to air dry.

2. Soak Your Pantyhose In Warm Water And Wear Them Wet

Take your pantyhose and soak them using the above procedure. Instead of waiting until they get dry, wear them while they are wet and walk around your house. With every movement, the fibers will stretch to accommodate the body shape. Wear the pantyhose for about 15 minutes, take them off, and let them air dry.

3. Steam Iron To Quickly Stretch In Localized Areas

Place the tights on the ironing board with a piece of damp cloth on top of the targeted areas to protect the fabric, then use low steam to iron them. Use your other hand to pull the tights carefully. The low heat and moisture inside the steam soften the fabric and allow you to stretch it.

4. Soak Leggings In Conditioner Or Baby Shampoo

Conditioner or baby shampoo will help soften the fibers and give them more flexibility. Add a small amount of baby shampoo or conditioner to warm water. Soak the leggings for about half an hour. Immediately after soaking, take them out, and while they are still wet, work at gently stretching the legs and waist out to expand the fabric, then lay them flat to air dry.

As the leggings dry, you will notice the fabric stretching more.

5. Try A Handmade Tights Stretcher

Another suggestion on how to stretch out tights even more precisely, if one is particularly concerned about the waistband or some part of the leg, is to employ a homemade tights stretcher.

Use a big book or a foam roller or anything of the size you want. Place it inside the part of the tights you want to stretch, and just let it be overnight. This slow, gentle process will stretch the material without any damage or strain.

6. Use A Hairdryer To Stretch Specific Areas

Wear your leggings or lay them flat and use a hairdryer on the warm setting to blow on those areas you'd wish to loosen. The heat here will help soften the fabric, hence enabling you to stretch it lightly using your hands. This method is effective for targeted areas, but be careful not to overheat any section to avoid damaging the fibers.

7. Freeze Stretch

This trick might sound a little strange, but it could actually stretch some areas a bit, taking advantage of the expansion of water upon freezing.

First, soak your leggings in cold water; then, gently squeeze out the excess and place them in a sealable plastic bag. Place the bag in the freezer and leave it until the leggings are frozen solid. The next day, let them thaw and gently stretch the areas you want to loosen.

Place the bags containing the leggings in the freezer and leave them until they are frozen solid.

8. Do Exercises Wearing Leggings

Wearing leggings during high-intensity workouts can also promote stretching. Squats, lunges, and any exercise that involves great movement of the legs will help the leggings conform to the shape of your body. In addition, your body heat while you are working out will warm up the fabric to become more flexible and stretchy.

9. Wear Leggings More Often

Even without exercise, the more you wear your leggings and even just put them on to lounge around the house for a couple of hours, the more it will help them mold themselves to your figure and stretch out somewhat after some time has passed.

The easiest method to stretch out leggings is to wear them on a regular basis.

10. Stretch Leggings With Weights

Dry freshly washed leggings flat on a countertop or ironing board. Place weights to pull and hold the top and bottom of the leggings taut. Without weights, you can improvise with heavy books or filled water bottles.

11. Take Your Leggings To A Tailor

If you do not feel confident in stretching your leggings, find a professional tailor to resize or reshape them with the proper equipment.

Since this solution on how to stretch pantyhose is not free of cost, it's the most reliable way to get your leggings adjusted, especially when you have big alterations.

Things To Avoid When Stretching Leggings

1. Drying Leggings In A Dryer

The possibility of shrinkage is highest when leggings are put inside a dryer. Air-drying them would be the best thing to retain their desired stretch. However, air drying alone will not stretch them. Stretching your leggings requires taking wet fabric, gently tugging, and shaping the areas where you'd like to expand.

2. Soaking Leggings In Harsh Chemicals

Harsh chemicals can disintegrate the fabric or cause your leggings to discolor. Besides, as a nature of leggings, the residue that the harsh detergents might leave behind will surely irritate your skin. It is best to use only gentle detergents, such as baby shampoo, to treat your leggings.

Harsh detergents cause leggings to stain.

3. Soaking Leggings In Hot Water

Hot water shrinks leggings and makes the elastic more likely to break. If you want to soften the fabric and make it more flexible for stretching, stick to using warm water.

How To Keep Your Leggings Stretchy

Once you finally have applied these hints on how to make leggings looser, another vital thing you should consider is maintaining their shape and elasticity. A few things to keep in mind are:

First of all, start washing and drying your leggings at appropriate times according to the label recommendation, which usually means cleaning them in cold water and air-drying them.

Let them avoid being exposed to high heat, such as hot washing, ironing, and high-heat drying. High temperatures will weaken the inner elastic fibers, and they will lose elasticity over time.

Finally, when storing your leggings, always fold them nicely or hang them on some hanger so that they keep their shape. Never stuff your leggings in some drawer or leave them in some twisted pile because doing this may cause your leggings to stretch in sections that you do not want them to.

Fold and store leggings in a drawer to keep them in nice shape.

How To Prevent Overstretching Your Leggings

Overstretching leads to fraying damage, sagging, and sometimes even holes in the fabric. These pieces of advice will help your leggings retain their shape and elasticity without overstretching: 

Start with the right size; refer to the sizing guide given by the manufacturer. For high-intensity workouts, a tighter fit will provide much-needed support and stability. A slightly looser fit may give comfort throughout everyday wear.

A well-fitting pair of leggings comes down to choosing the right size that matches your measurements and your movement needs.

Also, avoid constant tugging or stretching since those will definitely weaken the material sooner rather than later. If you find yourself adjusting your leggings too much because they're too tight, go a size higher rather than trying to fix them.

You should also not wear the same pair of leggings daily. Give them time to rest and recover in between uses so you don't overstretch them. Also, you should never wring your leggings to dry. Allow excess water to be squeezed out gently, then air dry your leggings to prevent sagging.

And finally, like all things with fabric, leggings wear out. The fibers in them slowly lose their elasticity and the ability to hold their shape over time. When your leggings no longer fit right, or all that can be said about them is that they're too loose, then perhaps that would be a reason to invest in another pair.

At JoyScore, we have an array of leggings, from classical black to body-shaping and butt-lifting ones, destined for both daily fashion needs and exercises, such as yoga, running, fitness, and bodybuilding. Materials used in our leggings are nylon/polyester fabric, which is made for optimal ventilation and comfort through every move. Browse through all of our leggings and get yours today!