If I merely pin them at the ankles, they drag on my knees.
So I also wrap a piece of twill tape around twice just under
the knee and tie a bow; this keeps the pants smooth at the
shins and puffy above the string.

=v= Pants leggings that are big enough for my biker thighs are
often too wide down at the ankles, so I hold the excess down
with a velcro strap. Some pants don't take well to this, and
unravel, so I take those in, making them more peg-legged.

=v= Now that you mention it, the drag at the knees is also an
irritation, though not one I've thought about very much. For
the last few years I have mostly worn Swrve jeans and pants (

http://swrve.us/

), which have a pair of little arrow-shaped gathers at the
knee, preventing drag. (They also have a diamond-shaped
gusset at the crotch, and the back of the pants are higher
than the front, for biking.)

=v= I know a few people who don't fit well into these jeans,
so I'm fortunate that they fit me perfectly and I haven't had
to take them in or tie bows or anything. Unfortunately they
seem to have phased out their products for women. In fact,
if the photos on the website are any indication, facial hair
will soon be mandatory.
_Jym_