Leg warmers for kids and babies make sense. Do you really enjoy struggling with pulling up tights or pants every time you have to change a diaper or help a little one go to the bathroom? Plus, who can resist all the cute patterns and colors you can choose from?

This is one of the quickest projects I’ve ever done. I went over to Kelly’s house so I could try out her serger. Kelly, of refibered, is an amazing seamstress that just happens to be doing some giveaways this week. Go over and take a look. She also has an Etsy Shop full of cute kid clothes, hats, etc…mostly made from reclaimed fabric. Thanks for all your help!

On to the tutorial.

Gather your supplies:

Knee high socks (I bought mine at Target in a pack of 3 for around $6)
scissors
sewing machine or serger

You’ll be making three cuts. The first one is right above the heel. Make sure to cut both socks.

The next two cuts take place on the foot. One right about the toe and the other right before the heel. You won’t need the toe or heel pieces. Save them to use in another project or toss them.

Next you’ll want to take the foot piece and fold it in on itself in half. The picture is a little blurry but I hope you can get the idea.

Place the knee high (right side out) inside the cuff you just made. You’ll want all three cut edges to line up.

Next you’ll sew it all together. I made one pair with a serger and the other pair with a sewing machine. It was just as easy to sew on either one. The serger makes them look a little more professionally finished.

It was my first time to use a serger and I messed up a little bit and didn’t catch all the layers. Oops! No big deal. I just put it back in there and stitched it up again making sure to get through all the layers.

The next set I made using the sewing machine. Make sure you choose a stitch that is stretchy. We used a 3 stitch zig zag and that worked just fine. When sewing knits, you’ll just want to make sure to hold the fabric in the front and the back while you’re sewing. It really wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be.

We also thought that it would be even easier if you eliminated the cuff altogether and just cut above the heel and stitched a little hem at the bottom.

As soon as I came home and showed my daughter what I made, she wanted to put them on immediately–no matter that she was wearing pants.

Share your finished projects at my flickr group!