diff --git a/clothing/skirt_garment_weights.py b/clothing/skirt_garment_weights.py
index e3ba90f..b731551 100644
--- a/clothing/skirt_garment_weights.py
+++ b/clothing/skirt_garment_weights.py
@@ -126,6 +126,19 @@ PANTS_SOLID4 = os.environ.get("SKIRT_PANTS_SOLID4") == "1"
 # cloth stays strand-driven, where the thigh cage + groin spheres own the
 # interaction (that regime never holed). 0 (default) = pants all the way up.
 PANTS_FROM = _envf("SKIRT_PANTS_FROM", 0.0)
+# FOLLOW TUBE (2026-08-20, Ozan: "the leg is a tube pushing in and out, not just the
+# line — govern the front quarter"): proximity follow keys off distance to the thigh
+# AXIS, so cloth beside the stitch line follows the line while the leg's VOLUME
+# sweeps through it. With SKIRT_FOLLOW_TUBE=1 the contact term is modulated by the
+# vertex's radial direction around the leg: the FRONT sector (±TUBE_FRONT degrees
+# of the body's forward axis, measured off foot→ball) follows at full strength,
+# fading to TUBE_BACK directly behind. The advancing leg's front face then carries
+# its cloth; cloth behind the leg barely follows (it never gets hauled upward on
+# the backswing — the ride-up channel stays shut). 0 (default) = legacy radial
+# follow, approved recipes bit-identical.
+TUBE = os.environ.get("SKIRT_FOLLOW_TUBE") == "1"
+TUBE_FRONT = _envf("SKIRT_TUBE_FRONT", 45.0)   # half-angle of the full-follow front sector, degrees
+TUBE_BACK = _envf("SKIRT_TUBE_BACK", 0.25)     # follow multiplier directly behind the leg
 # Azimuth spread, in strand-gap units (2026-08-19, long tifi): the classic
 # 2-strand linear blend makes the hem fold PIECEWISE-LINEAR — mid-stride the
 # tube creases into a hard triangle where the front-leg cloth meets the
@@ -171,13 +184,14 @@ def mat4_inverse_translation(m):
 
 
 def point_seg_distance(p, a, b):
-    """Distance from p to segment ab (thigh head→knee)."""
+    """Distance from p to segment ab (thigh head→knee), plus the closest point
+    (the follow tube needs the radial direction around the leg, not just the gap)."""
     ab = tuple(b[i] - a[i] for i in range(3))
     ap = tuple(p[i] - a[i] for i in range(3))
     ll = sum(v * v for v in ab)
     t = 0.0 if ll < 1e-12 else max(0.0, min(1.0, sum(ap[i] * ab[i] for i in range(3)) / ll))
     closest = tuple(a[i] + ab[i] * t for i in range(3))
-    return math.sqrt(sum((p[i] - closest[i]) ** 2 for i in range(3)))
+    return math.sqrt(sum((p[i] - closest[i]) ** 2 for i in range(3))), closest
 
 
 class Gltf:
@@ -270,6 +284,21 @@ def main():
     body_ibms = body.read(body_skin["inverseBindMatrices"])
     body_ibm = {n: m for n, m in zip(body_names, body_ibms) if n}
 
+    # Forward axis for the follow tube, measured off the BODY's foot→ball (toe)
+    # direction in the horizontal plane — never an assumed axis constant.
+    tube_fwd = None
+    if TUBE:
+        if "foot_l" in body_ibm and "ball_l" in body_ibm:
+            fa = mat4_inverse_translation(body_ibm["foot_l"])
+            ta = mat4_inverse_translation(body_ibm["ball_l"])
+            dx, dz = ta[0] - fa[0], ta[2] - fa[2]
+            n = math.hypot(dx, dz)
+            if n > 1e-6:
+                tube_fwd = (dx / n, dz / n)
+        if tube_fwd is None:
+            log("WARNING: SKIRT_FOLLOW_TUBE=1 but no foot_l/ball_l on the body — "
+                "falling back to legacy radial follow")
+
     ibms = g.read(skin["inverseBindMatrices"])
 
     # ── The RIG defines the ring; the garment must carry ALL of it ──────────────
@@ -471,12 +500,24 @@ def main():
             t = max(0.0, min(1.0, (y_top - v[1]) / span)) if span > 1e-9 else 0.0
 
             # ── thigh follow by proximity, faded out across the free hem ──
-            near, dist = None, 1e9
+            near, dist, radial = None, 1e9, None
             for bone, a, b in legs:
-                dd = point_seg_distance(v, a, b)
+                dd, cp = point_seg_distance(v, a, b)
                 if dd < dist:
                     near, dist = bone, dd
+                    radial = (v[0] - cp[0], v[2] - cp[2])
             contact = 1.0 - smoothstep((dist - CONTACT_R) / FALLOFF)
+            if tube_fwd is not None and radial is not None:
+                # Quarter-tube govern (Ozan 2026-08-20): the leg's front face owns
+                # its cloth; the back of the leg barely follows.
+                rl = math.hypot(radial[0], radial[1])
+                if rl > 1e-6:
+                    cos_fwd = (radial[0] * tube_fwd[0] + radial[1] * tube_fwd[1]) / rl
+                    cos_front = math.cos(math.radians(TUBE_FRONT))
+                    if cos_fwd < cos_front:
+                        # 0 at the sector edge → 1 directly behind the leg
+                        u = (cos_front - cos_fwd) / (cos_front + 1.0)
+                        contact *= 1.0 - (1.0 - TUBE_BACK) * smoothstep(u)
             hem_fade = 1.0 - smoothstep((t - (1.0 - HEM_FREE)) / HEM_FREE)
             follow = FOLLOW_MAX * contact * hem_fade
             stats["follow_sum"] += follow