Knitted Baby Legwarmers Pattern
Materials Required: Two colours of yarn and needles sized to match yarn. I used one ball each Olive (colour A) and Brown (colour B) in Magic Buttons by Naturally and US 3 /3.25mm needles.
Finished Measurements: 6.5 inches circumference, 11 inches long.
Sizing: These legwarmers fit my 20 lb toddler perfectly, and would likely fit a smaller baby well, too. They’re pretty well the same dimensions as store-bought Babylegs, just a little smaller in the circumference.
Directions:
- Knit a gauge swatch (I know. This totally sucks.) so you can figure out how many stitches you need to cast on to get the desired circumference - my gauge swatch gave me 6 st/inch.
- Cast on using colour A. In my case, I cast on 40 stitches.
- Work 1 inch of K2P2 ribbing in colour A.
- Switch to colour B and work 9 inches of stockinette stitch, alternating colours every 1 inch.
- Work 1 inch of K2P2 ribbing in colour A.
- Cast off loosely.
- Sew up side of warmer.
- Make another one!
Possible Adaptations:
- Knit in the round, which I would normally do because I hate sewing things up. Sadly, I didn’t have the right needle size.
- Knit in one colour and leave plain or embellish with some fun embroidery.
- Knit the stripes unevenly for a more funky look.
- Adapt the pattern to your child’s leg size by measuring around their thigh and adjusting the number of stitches to cast on.
If you happen to make this pattern, leave me a link! I’d love to see what you’ve done and what they look like!
Kathryn said,
February 18, 2010 @ 8:14 am
You have a beautiful ability to knit, I haven’t the patience. But I’ve been wondering, what are baby legs used for? I mean, I know it’s for the legs, but do they still wear pants?
kim said,
February 18, 2010 @ 8:17 pm
Kathryn, I love knitting because it’s easy to fit into spare moments - especially with a quick and small project like these!
We use baby legs when we’re going out for a walk in the stroller or sling and baby’s pants don’t quite reach the socks/boots/shoes and it’s chilly, mostly. Right now, though, we’re using them pretty well full-time to cover Gwen’s legs while she’s diaper-free at home. It’s waaaaaay too chilly to leave her legs completely bare and the babylegs seem to offer just enough warmth