Totally not house related at all, but I'm really excited to share some of the projects I worked on this summer while I was at my parents' house in Maine. They generously let me take over their formal dining room completely with my sewing stuff, so I was able to whip up a ton of baby and nursery projects. It's so much easier to just sit down for an hour and work on a project or two when the machine is out and just screaming to be used.
This is a quick and very easy project to make baby leggings from a pair of knee-high kids socks. We're using cloth diapers and I've discovered that cloth fanatics loathe to cover up cute, colorful cloth diapers, making these little guys the perfect accessory. I've also been told they're great for cold days when we're out walking Feeney and baby bee is in the carrier with its little legs hanging out. The ones I've made are a little on the girly side, so there's a 50/50 chance they could end up as shower gifts...now what to do with the hot pink cloth diapers if baby bee is a boy?
Baby Leggings: a Tutorial
materials:
one pair of knee socks sized approximately for a 4 year old (I used size L from crewcuts)
7" piece of 1/2" elastic
matching thread
Step one: cutting the socks
Stack the two socks evenly on top of each other and cut off the toe and heel gusset. You will use the center foot portion, which should be about 3" long, and the leg.
Step two: sewing the elastic
Pin the 7" piece of elastic in a ring with 1" overlapping, making sure not to twist the elastic. Sew closed with a wide, long zigzag stitch.
Step three: assembling the cuff
Turn the 3" foot portion of your sock inside out and slide it onto the leg portion until the opening edges meet, right sides facing. Slip the elastic ring you made in step two about an inch from your opening, just enough so your sewing needle won't catch it when your secure the seam.
Step four: pinning the legging cuff
Fold the foot piece over the elastic, meeting all the cut ends together. Pin in place.
looking into the legging:
Step five: sewing the cuff
Using a wide, long zigzag stitch carefully sew around the entire cuff making sure to catch all three layers of fabric and not to catch the elastic.
Voila, baby leggings!
The original cuff at the top will go around the baby's thighs and the new cuff that you added goes around their little ankles, keeping the leggings from slipping over the baby's feet. However, on a chilly day, pulling that little elastic cuff down over their feet isn't a bad idea at all.Labels: baby, craft, sew
