Making Your Own Ripped Leggings

Leggings have been back in style for some time now, with all its versions and patterns. Among these patterns and styles are ripped leggings for women, also popularly known as slashed leggings. Before you associate these with hippies and defiant teenagers, understand that these can look really smart if worn appropriately.

It is however, a fact that these look best on youngsters. Elderly people would probably not even consider wearing these, because they may appear outrageous. These may not be the best for women who are too curvy. In effect, one needs to be slender, and preferably tall, to be able to pull these off without creating a fashion faux pas.

While slashed leggings are easily available in the market, you can make them yourself too; and after you've made them, take a look at some ways in which you can sport the newest piece of clothing in your wardrobe.

Making ripped leggings is cakewalk, but there are still some basic instructions you need to follow. The kind of fabric they are made of, and the manner in which you decide to wear them, will help you decide how you want to go about the task.

The fabric you choose may be spandex, cotton, nylon, or lycra. It may also be a blend of these. The thinner the material, the more likely it is to stretch when you rip it, so you have to keep this point in mind when you are ripping them.

Also, when doing this task yourself, start with an old pair for trial. If it goes well, you know you can do this with your favorite pair. Else, just stick to the ones that are available in the market.

Step 1: Take your leggings, and spread them on a flat surface. This could be the floor or a wooden board.

Step 2: Decide which portion you want to rip. Is it the side, or the front? Or is it a little bit of both. If it is the side that you want ripped, then the manner in which you have placed the leggings, spread out flat, is fine. If you want the front part ripped, you will have to fold them at the center of each leg (like a pair of trousers).

Step 3: Take a pair of fabric scissors, and start cutting where you have made the fold. Let the lengths of each cut vary so that you have rips of different sizes when you open up the leggings. Start from the bottom and move up to a length you are comfortable with. Keep a sizable distance between each cut, as these will stretch when you wear them.

The length may be up to the knee or higher, or you may cut it up to the knee on one leg, and above the knee on another. You may use an image you find online as a reference for the kind of pattern you want to make for yourself. Just remember how you want to wear these.

For instance, if you are considering wearing them as pants, then appropriately decide the height of the cuts you make. You should be comfortable with whatever length you decide.

Step 4: Your leggings are now ready to wear. Try them out and see how they feel. They may not resemble the image you found online, but even if they are close, they are your own creation. So love them, and wear them with a top of your choice.

Ripped leggings can look really smart when worn with a very short black dress, accessorized with a chunky belt, and a pair of pumps. While there are many dresses to wear with leggings, the little black dress can never go wrong. A lot of women choose to wear flat bellies with these, but this should be a choice only if you are very tall.

Else, you may choose gorgeous tunics to wear with slashed ones. These ideally should be slightly baggy. They shouldn't make you look too large, but a baggy top with a skin tight bottom, say slashed black ones, is usually a great ensemble.

Though boots go very well with regular leggings, avoid wearing these with ripped up variety, as they may simply destroy the entire look.