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LEGGINGS, CANVAS, M-1938, DISMOUNTED.
Canvas leggings, in a light shade of Olive Drab. These were issued in 4 sizes as of 1939, for field
use with the Service shoe. The hooks and grommets were in brass at the start of the war, then in
blackened metal.
Size 2R (fits 13"-14" calf)
Size 3R (fits 15"-16" calf)
Size 4R (fits 17"-18" calf)
Size 5R (up to 19" calf)
Canvas leggings, in a light shade of Olive Drab. These were issued in 4 sizes as of 1939, for field
use with the Service shoe. The hooks and grommets were in brass at the start of the war, then in
blackened metal.
Size 2R (fits 13"-14" calf)
Size 3R (fits 15"-16" calf)
Size 4R (fits 17"-18" calf)
Size 5R (up to 19" calf)
Wearing Them
Now to the – groan – fun part. Leggings are one of those things you will have to mess with on your own to truly understand. Still, there are a few general
things you must get right in order to correctly wear them.
Correct Use
Leggings should be put on with the gap facing OUT, hooks facing to the REAR. Any other way is both incorrect and potentially dangerous – hooks can
easily snag on underbrush, causing you to fall, and there is at least one known incident of a reenactor placing the hooks on the inside of his leg, where
they caught each other and caused him to trip down several stairs. Let this be a lesson to you- your leggings should be facing always and only as shown
in the below illustration:
Lacing method
Putting them On--
Preparing
Now to the real meat of things. You should already be wearing your trousers of choice, cushion-sole socks, and service shoes. Make sure your boots
are tied well enough that they won’t come undone later in the day, then check to ensure both your leggings are set up to put on.
There should be roughly 1” of lace at the top.
All of the laced loops between grommets should also be pulled taught.
You should have a large loop of lace hanging loose at the bottom.
If possible, laces should be in good condition, with no visible weak spots. Otherwise, you will have to take special care not to break the lace.
Attach the bottom strap so that it looks just like this – do not pull more of it strap through, as you will be unable to put the leggings on your feet.
Generally, the smaller your shoe size, the more slack you'll need to take out of the strap when you're done.
Step 1. You are now ready to put legging to foot. Gingerly slide your boot through the front of both the strap, and the lace, and pulling upward until
things find their natural place:
Tuck your trousers into the legging - you may place them as little as 3" in, or as far as shown in the illustration:
Pin the trouser leg with your finger:
Step 2. This is the first tricky part – match the bottom eyelet corner to the bottom hook corner. Hold these together with one hand, and use the other to
pull ALL of the lace through to the first set of grommets:
Step 3. Using a circular motion, wrap the lace once around the bottom hook:
Step 4. Now the next tricky part – make sure the lace stays on the hook, but pull all remaining slack through to the next set of eyelets. Remember, you
want to have ALL excess slack out of the loop before you start the next one:
Start pulling!
Take out all the slack.
Step 5. Using a circular motion, wrap the lace around the second hook – this is the same basic motion as in step 3:
Step 6. Pull all the slack, same as step 4:
Step 7. Wrap the lace:
Step 8. Pull the slack:
Step 9. Repeat. Continue to wrap the lace around each hook, proceeding from lowest to highest, taking all slack out of the lace as you go. The secret is
to keep your legging lace under control. Don’t pull each loop sloppily, or too tightly – this is what makes leggings uncomfortable!
Step 10. You’ve done it. If you laced your leggings correctly, you should not even need to tie them up – they’ll stay up on their own plenty long. At this
point, loop the remaining 6”-10” of lace through the extra eyelet:
Feed it into the gromet...
...and pull it out the other side.
Step 11. Gently tie it off as shown. DO NOT tie it in such a way as that it will be difficult to undue, as you will want to be able to remove your leggings
as quickly as possible. Such knots also lead to circulatory restriction in the leg:
Step 12. Tuck the rest of the lace into the top of the legging for a neat and soldierly appearance:
Step 13. Repeat steps 1-12 for the second legging. Removal is the reverse of the above – remember to reset the legging when you’re done, so it will be
ready when you need to put it on:
When you take leggings off, ALWAYS set them up to put back on. You never know when you'll be putting them back on - it may be in a barn at four in
the morning to the sound of rifle fire several hundred yards off...
There's nothing more impressive than a pair of properly-laced leggings.
Now to the – groan – fun part. Leggings are one of those things you will have to mess with on your own to truly understand. Still, there are a few general
things you must get right in order to correctly wear them.
Correct Use
Leggings should be put on with the gap facing OUT, hooks facing to the REAR. Any other way is both incorrect and potentially dangerous – hooks can
easily snag on underbrush, causing you to fall, and there is at least one known incident of a reenactor placing the hooks on the inside of his leg, where
they caught each other and caused him to trip down several stairs. Let this be a lesson to you- your leggings should be facing always and only as shown
in the below illustration:
Lacing method
Putting them On--
Preparing
Now to the real meat of things. You should already be wearing your trousers of choice, cushion-sole socks, and service shoes. Make sure your boots
are tied well enough that they won’t come undone later in the day, then check to ensure both your leggings are set up to put on.
There should be roughly 1” of lace at the top.
All of the laced loops between grommets should also be pulled taught.
You should have a large loop of lace hanging loose at the bottom.
If possible, laces should be in good condition, with no visible weak spots. Otherwise, you will have to take special care not to break the lace.
Attach the bottom strap so that it looks just like this – do not pull more of it strap through, as you will be unable to put the leggings on your feet.
Generally, the smaller your shoe size, the more slack you'll need to take out of the strap when you're done.
Step 1. You are now ready to put legging to foot. Gingerly slide your boot through the front of both the strap, and the lace, and pulling upward until
things find their natural place:
Tuck your trousers into the legging - you may place them as little as 3" in, or as far as shown in the illustration:
Pin the trouser leg with your finger:
Step 2. This is the first tricky part – match the bottom eyelet corner to the bottom hook corner. Hold these together with one hand, and use the other to
pull ALL of the lace through to the first set of grommets:
Step 3. Using a circular motion, wrap the lace once around the bottom hook:
Step 4. Now the next tricky part – make sure the lace stays on the hook, but pull all remaining slack through to the next set of eyelets. Remember, you
want to have ALL excess slack out of the loop before you start the next one:
Start pulling!
Take out all the slack.
Step 5. Using a circular motion, wrap the lace around the second hook – this is the same basic motion as in step 3:
Step 6. Pull all the slack, same as step 4:
Step 7. Wrap the lace:
Step 8. Pull the slack:
Step 9. Repeat. Continue to wrap the lace around each hook, proceeding from lowest to highest, taking all slack out of the lace as you go. The secret is
to keep your legging lace under control. Don’t pull each loop sloppily, or too tightly – this is what makes leggings uncomfortable!
Step 10. You’ve done it. If you laced your leggings correctly, you should not even need to tie them up – they’ll stay up on their own plenty long. At this
point, loop the remaining 6”-10” of lace through the extra eyelet:
Feed it into the gromet...
...and pull it out the other side.
Step 11. Gently tie it off as shown. DO NOT tie it in such a way as that it will be difficult to undue, as you will want to be able to remove your leggings
as quickly as possible. Such knots also lead to circulatory restriction in the leg:
Step 12. Tuck the rest of the lace into the top of the legging for a neat and soldierly appearance:
Step 13. Repeat steps 1-12 for the second legging. Removal is the reverse of the above – remember to reset the legging when you’re done, so it will be
ready when you need to put it on:
When you take leggings off, ALWAYS set them up to put back on. You never know when you'll be putting them back on - it may be in a barn at four in
the morning to the sound of rifle fire several hundred yards off...
There's nothing more impressive than a pair of properly-laced leggings.
