InkCraftThigh Tattoo Designs for Women, Hip to Hemline
21 women's thigh tattoos photographed on skin for InkCraftBy Uladzimir TumanauUpdated
On many women the outer thigh carries on the curve of the hip without a break, and the hem of a skirt, dress or pair of shorts crosses it at a different height each day. A thigh tattoo on a woman is planned against both: the curve it follows and the hemlines it sits above.
- watercolor · colourTry it on — Color watercolor heart tattoo on a woman's thigh
- new school · colourTry it on — Color new school parrot tattoo on a woman's thigh
- ornamental · black and greyTry it on — Black and grey ornamental flower tattoo on a woman's thigh
- linework · black and whiteTry it on — Black and white linework crow tattoo on a woman's thigh
- geometric · black and whiteTry it on — Black and white geometric sunflower tattoo on a woman's thigh
- fine line · black and whiteTry it on — Black and white fine line tattoo on a woman's thigh
- blackwork · black and whiteTry it on — Black and white blackwork lily tattoo on a woman's thigh
- illustrative · black and greyTry it on — Black and grey illustrative moon tattoo on a woman's thigh
- biomechanical · colourTry it on — Color biomechanical flower tattoo on a woman's thigh
- Japanese · colourTry it on — Color Japanese cat tattoo on a woman's thigh
- fine line · black and whiteTry it on — Black and white fine line dragon tattoo on a woman's thigh
- ornamental · black and greyTry it on — Black and grey ornamental cat tattoo on a woman's thigh
- new school · colourTry it on — Color new school tattoo on a woman's thigh
- ornamental · black and greyTry it on — Black and grey ornamental octopus tattoo on a woman's thigh
- dotwork · black and greyTry it on — Black and grey dotwork figure tattoo on a woman's thigh
- tribal · black and whiteTry it on — Black and white tribal bee tattoo on a woman's thigh
- fine line · black and whiteTry it on — Black and white fine line hummingbird tattoo on a woman's thigh
- ornamental · black and greyTry it on — Black and grey ornamental lion tattoo on a woman's thigh
- dotwork · black and greyTry it on — Black and grey dotwork butterfly tattoo on a woman's thigh
- geometric · colourTry it on — Color geometric heart tattoo on a woman's thigh
- blackwork · black and whiteTry it on — Black and white blackwork moth tattoo on a woman's thigh
Every pair is one tattoo: the design as it was drawn, and a photograph of that same design on the body.
These 21 tattoos on women's thighs, in numbers
- Body parts
- 1
- Black and grey
- 15
- Colour
- 6
- Most common style
- ornamental
Where the hem crosses the thigh
Hems move more than any other edge of clothing. A mini skirt, running shorts, a knee-length dress and a swimsuit each draw a different line across a woman's thigh, and sitting down lifts every one of them by several centimetres. Before settling the size of a thigh piece, stand in the shortest thing you wear often, then sit, and mark where the hem lands both times.
A design that stops above that mark stays private until you choose otherwise. One that crosses it shows a slice of itself whenever you wear that length, which looks intentional only if the lower part of the design was drawn to be seen on its own: a trailing stem, the tail of a figure, the lower half of a symmetrical ornament. Anything that needs to be seen whole to make sense belongs above the line, and a photo of your own leg in that outfit shows where the line falls before anything is inked.
Shaved skin and a thigh that changes
If you shave or wax your legs, the thigh stays bare all year, and fine line, dotwork and pale grey read as they did on the day they healed. The front and outer thigh carry that kind of detail best. The inner thigh is softer and brushes the other leg as you walk, so keep the delicate work away from it.
Thighs and hips are where many women's bodies gain and lose weight first, and pregnancy and the hormonal changes of later life register there too, as the skin slowly softens with age. A design that follows the long curve of the leg keeps its character through all of that far better than one built from straight lines, exact circles or tightly spaced lettering. The thigh page covers what the session and the first weeks of healing involve.
Common questions
- How high should a thigh tattoo sit to stay hidden?
- Above the hem of the shortest thing you wear regularly, with a margin for sitting, since every hem rides up when you do. For most women that puts it on the upper half of the outer thigh, where swimwear and very short shorts show it and nearly everything else covers it.
- Can a thigh tattoo go over stretch marks?
- Usually, once the marks have faded from red or purple to silver or white, which can take a year or more. Ink takes slightly differently in the scarred lines, so artists prefer designs with shading and texture that the marks disappear into, rather than a flat solid fill that shows every line.
- Which styles suit a female thigh tattoo?
- Ornamental and fine-line work suit the front and side of the thigh, which are wide and smooth enough to keep thin lines and open pattern clear. Dotwork shading follows the curve toward the hip without leaving a hard edge. A flower, a lily or a moon drawn tall rather than wide sits along the leg instead of across it.
- What size of thigh tattoo suits a shorter leg?
- Measure from the hip bone to the top of the kneecap and let that length set the height of the design, not a photograph of someone taller. A piece that fills about two thirds of that distance reads as a thigh tattoo on any frame; one drawn for a longer leg crowds the knee.
See it on your own skin first
InkCraft places a design on a photo of you — scaled, wrapped and shaded to the spot you pick, so you can judge the size against your own body before it is permanent.