Monday, November 9, 2009

Tutorial: Super-Easy-One-Seam Baby Leggings

Isn't she just THE cutest Sunbonnet Sue ever!?!

She's just starting to use those chunky little legs.

My sister Katie made some cute baby leggings for my niece Baby O. Then as I was going through clothes putting away Sweet Pea's 3-6 month clothes and getting out her 6-9 month ones I realized we had several super cute summery dresses and not much in the wintery dresses category...and anyway even the most wintery baby dresses don't do a lot to keep those legs warm. With our move to central Washington coming up in just a few short weeks, I thought I'd try my hand at some sweet leggings.


I made them differently though. I decided to try making leg warmer type leggings out of smaller sized baby pants. I figured the legs would be about right since I was just trying to cover her legs and not the bum.
Materials: Infant pants, sewing machine, thread...that's it!

I started with these. A neighbor gave them to us as hand-me-downs, but they were already too small for Sweet Pea. Turned them inside out. Cut the two legs apart. The trickiest part was pinning it so the waist elastic would line up and making sure there weren't any funny puckers. You want any puckering to be in the part that will be trimmed off after you sew.It's a bit tricky because the bum side of the pants is cut bigger than the front. Get it all pinned. Sew. Trim. I trimmed the elastic a little deeper, so there wouldn't be a lot of bulk poking into Sweet Pea's leg. Turn right side out. Then repeat for the second leg. Next thing I knew my Sweetie looked like this...
The particular pair of pants I used was marked NB-Newborn, so they were even smaller than 0-3 months. It turned out they were plenty long, but not quite big enough around for Sweet Pea's chunky thighs. They just go up an inch or so up her leg...but they were the right color for this dress. I've got some bigger pairs I want to try making over, so I'll let you know how those go.
Update: Firecracker discovered these can double for sleeve extenders.

7 comments:

  1. So they're kind of like long socks without feet? I was a little confused.

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  2. Cute! Another thrifty way to make "Baby Legs" and make those baby clothes last a little longer.

    BTW, I wanted to share my cousin's stocking tradition. They do not do Santa at all with their four kids. Instead, they hang the stockings and they all conspire to sneak treats for each other in them through out the days leading to Christmas. It's just a family tradition. She might sneak a pack of goldfish crackers in there one day for the kiddies. The next day her hubby might sneak a small goody for her. It's all about the fun of surprising each other and delighting in gift giving-small scale.

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  3. A new way to make baby legs! I like your way. It looks fairly easy and quick!!!

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  4. Very nice! I've made several pair of "faux babylegs" type leggings out of women's knee socks, but this looks great - especially as I already have too small pants!

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  5. Very clever. Wished I thought of things like this when my girl was just a baby!!!

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  6. Now that is a vision. i would have never thought of that. Adorable.

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  7. My daughter hates diaper changes. I need some baby leggings and I might just be able to do this one. I'll try to post it if I get around to it. (here's hoping I do)

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