Leg opening

Leg opening is the width of a pant leg at the hem. Charts give it laid flat, straight across the hem, or as the full circumference, twice that width. With the thigh, it is the number that tells a skinny leg from a straight, bootcut or wide one, and whether the pants go over boots.

How to measure

1. Lay the pants flat, front up, one leg smooth down to the hem.
2. Measure straight across the bottom of the hem, edge to edge.
3. That is the leg opening laid flat. Double it for the circumference.
4. Write down which one you give: a 20 cm opening laid flat is a 40 cm hem around.

On a size chart

Leg opening is a garment measurement, listed with the rise and the thigh on pants specs. None of Ruban Size's 39 templates has a leg opening row: the pants templates give the waist, the hips and the inseam. A row in a garment tab is enough to answer the question shoppers ask about a cut, as long as the header or the caption says "laid flat" when it is half the hem.

In Ruban Size

Find my size doesn't ask for the leg opening: it sizes pants by waist and hips, and the leg is a matter of cut. Put the row in a garment tab and it shows in the guide in centimeters or inches, whichever the shopper picks. For a picture, add a How to measure block to that tab with your own photo of the hem laid flat, since the body figure draws body measurements only. The size charts page covers tabs, captions and blocks.