How to Make Your Own Custom Leggings with Print on Demand
Designing leggings is one of the most exciting ways to showcase your creativity. Whether you're preparing to open a sportswear store, customize workout clothes for yourself, or simply want to bring your creative projects to life, print-on-demand makes the process easier than ever. This guide will walk you through the complete process of creating custom leggings using print-on-demand technology, from understanding how the model works to designing products that truly resonate with consumers.
What is print on demand and how it works for custom leggings?
Print-on-demand is a production model where products are only manufactured after a customer places an order. You don't need to pre-print hundreds or thousands of leggings; simply upload your design to a print-on-demand platform, connect it to your online store, and the supplier handles production and shipping after the sale is complete.
Customizing a leggings typically begins with choosing a style from an print-on-demand service provider. You then apply your design to a digital template, ensuring a perfect fit for the entire garment. Once the customer places an order, the design is printed directly onto the fabric, cut, sewn, and finally shipped to the buyer with your branding.
From a business perspective, print-on-demand significantly lowers the barrier to entry into the apparel industry . There's no need to invest in inventory, manage warehouses, or worry about unsold stock. Production costs are only incurred after a sale is completed, allowing you to quickly test your business ideas or launch your brand with limited initial capital .
Custom leggings are an excellent print on demand product
According to market research data from MMR, the leggings market is projected to reach nearly $63.8 billion between 2025 and 2032. Because leggings are suitable for a variety of lifestyles, including fitness, yoga, athleisure, everyday wear, and even street fashion, this versatility allows sellers to target various market segments without changing their core product.
Print-on-demand offers convenient customization options, allowing for the application of various interesting designs to different types of leggings, catering to diverse consumer needs. For creators and entrepreneurs, customized leggings provide ample space for telling their brand story.
From a practical standpoint, leggings generally have fewer sizing issues compared to structured garments like jackets or jeans. Their stretchy fabric and relaxed fit reduce return rates, which are important confidence signals for both buyers and sellers. Coupled with a wide range of sizing options, leggings appeal to a broader audience while minimizing friction during the buying process.
Choosing the right type of leggings
Different types of leggings offer varying performance and comfort levels, which can even affect print quality and customer satisfaction. Therefore, understanding the fabric, style, and size is crucial before designing or selling.
Fabric
Most print on demand leggings are made from polyester or polyester-spandex blends. Polyester is the primary fabric because of its excellent colorfastness during printing, allowing the design to remain vibrant even after multiple washes. However, spandex or other elastic fibers are often added for better elasticity and flexibility.
For sports or yoga leggings, breathability and moisture-wicking properties are crucial, while the fabric also needs to provide sufficient support. Therefore, a blend of spandex and polyester is the best choice overall. This is also the fabric used by various leggings brands.
Style
Although leggings may look similar, a closer look reveals subtle details that make them unique. Here are some different styles of leggings to suit various occasions and preferences.
Yoga leggings: One of the best-selling leggings without a doubt, maintaining stable market demand in every season, according to Google Trends data.
Sports leggings: These are almost essential gear for fitness enthusiasts, as their highly elastic fabric provides muscle support and protection during medium to high intensity strength training.
Crossover leggings: These are leggings that are perfect for women to hug their bodies and create a beautiful silhouette. They are characterized by a stylish crossover waistband and side pockets on both sides.
Flare leggings: Featuring a unique flared leg design, these leggings perfectly blend comfort and style, making them ideal for yoga classes or other activities, as well as everyday casual wear.
Size
From a seller's perspective, offering leggings that fit all body types can increase customer satisfaction and repeat purchase rates. Size is a key factor of trust in the apparel industry. Customers want to ensure that the leggings they order are comfortable and flattering. Therefore, a clear size chart is essential, especially in print-on-demand models where customers cannot try on the garments before purchasing. Accurate size information, combined with information on fabric elasticity, helps buyers make informed choices and reduces the likelihood of returns.
In addition, offering a wide and inclusive size range not only expands your potential audience but also demonstrates that your brand values diversity and accessibility.
Design popular custom leggings
Leggings have always been a popular POD product, and to make your product stand out, personalized design is key to custom leggings. Since leggings offer a complete canvas, successful design requires a balance between creativity and comfort. Understanding the principles of all over printing and staying abreast of design trends can help you create leggings that stand out without overwhelming the wearer.
All over print leggings
Among printed leggings, all-over print leggings are the most popular. They allow the pattern to cover the entire leg from the waist to the ankle, providing designers with endless design possibilities due to the large printable area. Furthermore, AOP leggings have a more visually impactful look, increasing perceived value for customers, who are often willing to pay a higher price for leggings that feel unique.
It's important to note that your design must take seams, curves, and elasticity into account; improper planning can cause pattern distortion. Designs with a lot of text require extra attention. Text may be distorted or partially obscured at seams, so typography and scaling are crucial.
Personalized leggings design trends
The design of leggings is also influenced by fashion trends , so it's essential to refer to the latest design trends when designing them. Let's take a look at some popular design examples.
Color blocking design
By combining two or more visually striking colors, these designs can give the body a strong sense of structure and dynamism. Clever color blocking can accentuate the waistline, lengthen the legs, or enhance curves. For example, black + other bright colors (fluorescent green, orange, fuchsia). Or fluorescent orange + charcoal black, fluorescent pink + navy blue—these combinations are perfect for a dynamic vibe in the gym.
Pattern design
Repeating patterns, abstract designs, and geometric shapes are ideal for prints covering the entire leggings, making them perfect for print-on-demand production. The pattern maintains visual consistency even as the fabric stretches or shifts, which is crucial for leggings. Designs such as marble textures, tie-dye effects, repeating floral patterns, and geometric layouts tend to adapt to different body types and sizes, maintaining their appeal. This makes patterned leggings visually reliable and commercially safe.
Text design
Various font designs are also a popular design concept for leggings. Quotes, inspirational sayings, names, initials, and phrases can transform leggings into expressive and personalized garments. In print-on-demand leggings, text is often arranged vertically along the leg, cleverly integrated into side panel designs, or repeated as part of a graphic. Leggings with printed text are particularly popular in fitness, motivational, and lifestyle products. Phrases related to confidence, strength, or personal values can resonate emotionally with customers, thereby increasing perceived product value and purchase intent.
Tools and software for leggings design
Designing custom leggings doesn't require advanced skills, but the right design tools can make all the difference. Many online tools are available today for creating your own designs. For example, Canva is a fantastic free design tool for print-on-demand design, allowing you to create stunning designs without needing professional skills.
In addition, Adobe Photoshop is also a powerful design tool. With professional-grade pixel editing, you can handle complex layers and output high-resolution images, but you need to master certain editing skills.
With the rapid development of AI tools today, creating designs using AI is nothing new. For example, Midjourney can generate various high-quality image concepts based on your prompts, which you can even use directly for printing. It saves a lot of time and is very user-friendly for beginners who are not proficient in using professional tools.
Make your own custom leggings with PeaPrint
Using a professional print on demand platform like PeaPrint simplifies the production and sales process of custom leggings. We handle production, printing, and logistics, allowing you to focus on design, branding, and marketing without worrying about logistics. Customize your first pair of yoga leggings for yourself and your brand today with PeaPrint.
Choose a niche and target audience
All successful products begin with a clear understanding of their target audience. Instead of producing ordinary leggings, focus on a specific audience that shares common interests, values, or lifestyles. For example, design leggings with moon, star, or energy symbols for consumers who love astrology. Or customize leggings with cute cat and dog designs for pet lovers. When customers feel that a product is designed specifically for them, they are more likely to trust the brand and make a purchase.
Select a legging style from our catalog
Once you've determined your niche, choosing the right leggings becomes much easier. You can spend a minute registering a PeaPrint account, access our product catalog, and select a leggings style that suits your needs. Our catalog offers leggings for a wide range of purposes, from sportswear and casual comfort to trendy and edgy styles, to meet your requirements.
Create your legging designs
Once you've selected a style, the design process can begin. Using our provided templates, you can upload your design and apply it to the leggings pattern using our mockup generator, making adjustments to ensure a perfect fit. During this stage, you can experiment and test different patterns, color schemes, and layouts.
Order samples to confirm quality
Once the design is finalized, you can order samples to confirm printing details. Ordering samples is one of the most important steps in the custom leggings process. Samples allow you to evaluate the fabric feel, print clarity, color accuracy, and overall workmanship. Before launching online sales, ensure the product quality meets your customers' expectations.
Price your personalized leggings
How do you price your personalized leggings? First, list your production costs, shipping costs, and platform fees to calculate all the costs of producing one pair of leggings. Then, combine this with your brand and expected profit margin to set a reasonable profit.
Regarding pricing, you can also refer to competitors in a similar price range to see how much their related products cost. This may provide some inspiration for your pricing strategy.
Publish and sell your leggings online
Once everything is ready, you can connect your online store to PeaPrint. With just a few clicks, you can publish your products to your store and start selling. This also enables a seamless order flow from customer to production. PeaPrint supports integration with Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, and Amazon.
FAQs
What material are custom leggings made of?
Custom leggings produced through print on demand are typically made from polyester or polyester-spandex blends. These materials are chosen for their stretch, durability, and ability to hold vibrant prints. The exact composition can vary depending on the specific product, but most are designed to balance comfort, performance, and long-lasting color.
How much do custom leggings cost?
The cost of custom leggings depends on factors such as fabric quality, printing method, and fulfillment fees. In a print on demand model, the base cost covers production and shipping, while the retail price includes your profit margin. Pricing can vary widely, but well-designed leggings are often positioned as premium apparel.
What sizes do your leggings come in?
Our print-on-demand leggings are typically available in a range of sizes, from S to XXL, to accommodate different body types. Offering inclusive sizing options helps build trust and expand our customer base. Specific size availability depends on the product you select from our catalog.
Conclusion
Ready to make your own custom-printed leggings? You can use PeaPrint's print on demand service to create custom leggings and then integrate them into your online store for sale through our sales channels. This dropshipping model allows you to easily transform digital designs into physical products and ultimately generate sales without requiring a large investment. It's perfect for starting a business.