DIY UPCYCLED KNIT BABY LEG WARMERS TUTORIAL - 3 different styles

So after yesterday I woke up today still very excited about my (in the mail) baby leg warmers.   When I had a great thought: knitted baaby leg warmers would be So Cute...except I can't knit.  So I decided d I would make some out of sweater sleeves. 

Now I love my knit sweaters and didn't want to cut them up
  Plus then I wouldn't have sweaters.  So I went to the local mission (I live in the ghetto) where they have free everything including clothes. 

I found three sweaters with knits, colour and feel that I liked.  Also 3 different styles and sizes (toddler, child, adult).  So this tutorial actually shows 3 different (and easy) ways to make upcycled baby leg warmers from sweaters.  Also I did them all long so they will bunch on the legs, and not be grown out of. 

LEG WARMER #1 (Toddler size, hand knit, cuffed wrist and neck hole):
1. Cut straight up from armhole to neck. The wrist will be one cuff. The neck the other cuff.
2. Starting at the base of the wrist cuff sew (with sleeve turmed.inside out) in a solid zigzag in a straight line up to neckline. Now you have a tube

See the solid zigzag stitch in the red?

3. Cut off excess material (careful not to cut the stitches). Turn right side out and your done.

*note: the finished width is 8.5cm which would be a diameter of 17cm. The length is about 33cm.

LEG WARMER #2: Adult sweater with rib knit cuffs, waist and fold over collar in neck.
1. Cut sleeve straight across at bottom of arm hole.

2 sew in a straight line from base of wrist cuff to top.

3. Cut off excess.

4. Cut 16cm of rib knit collar off. Sew to non cuffed end of leg warmer. *the leg will.stretch more then the cuff while sewing. Use much finger pressure and guidence at Presser foot to prevent stretching.

5. Sew cuff together. Turn tight side out andyour done.

LEG WARMER #3 - child sized sweater with no ribbed cuffs:
1. Cut sleeve straight off.

2. Cut off 16cm of a rib knit cuff, waist etc from another sweater.

3. Sew cuff ends together creating a circle.

4. Place sleeve I.side cuff.with raw.edges together. Stitch and turn right side .out

So there we go; 3 knit baby leg warmers at zero cost. And regardless of the sweater, there are.ways to make it work. Style 3 is a good way to add colour to a plain coloured sweater/leg warmer. Enjoy.

SO EXCITED ABOUT BABY LEG WARMERS - Clothes can be an issue when cloth diapering.

When it comes to cloth diapering clothes can be a real issue...one that has gotten worse as the years go on.  Why? Cuz mainstream baby clothes are made to fit mainstream (disposable diapered) babies. 

When I look back to family pictures of my siblings and cousins (all 70's babies), and our parents and grandparents; I realize this wasn't always the issue....but back then mainstream babies wore cloth diapers.  Back then babies had rompers and such outfits that had wide butts that fit cloth diapers.  Also back then everyone had at least one family member who could (and would) knit rompers, Shorties and Longies.  Plus they could be found at reasonable prices at church bazzars.  I even got a few for my first two kids. 

Cloth diapering girls and boys has different advantages and disadvantages. Dresses and tights are perfect for cloth diapering. As are sweatpants. Stretchy and / or loose. Boy jeans fit baggier then girls jeans, although from looking at today's baby clothes I'd be surprised to find jeans that fit boys or girls in cloth.

There are of course long-standing solutions. Kushies being a cloth diaper company that also makes baby clothes and accessories obviously makes their baby clothes to fit cloth diapers. They are not budget clothes however. Id say they are mid range price. Oshkosh clothes have also fit. To be fair I should point out I've never had many of their clothes due to price, and what I did have was unisex sweats and overalls so I could pass them down kid to kid. I am also hoping to check out the local Oshkosh store soon and will be wondering (out of curiosity) if they still are wide butted. I'd likewise imagine other cloth diaper companies have a fee clothes to sell.

Wool has been the diaper cover and clothing of choice for fluffy cloth butts since before there was plastic pants (so since before there was a choice). They however fell out of fashion (but never dissapeared). They have now become a very trendy baby item for cloth babies. Wool is also cute, effective and functional for cloth babies. They have variety too (as discussed in the blog post on diaper wraps): Wool Longies, Shorties, wraps, sleepsacs, etc. However they are pricey!! Id love some (or one lol) but these are currently beyond my price range. There are tutorials to make up-cycled ones and I might give that a try at some point.

AND NOW...
....we have baby leg-warmers (also known as leggings, which can ve confusing since girls stretchy pants are also called leggings). I dont remember these with baby #5, but they could have been around then. If so I'm guessing they were pretty new and not so popular yet. I believe they are actually a fashion statement from the EC (elimination communication) crowd, but the practicality crosses over!

So I'm all excited to try out this new fad. I admit I'm into a fad idea I have never tried. This is highly unusual behavior for me. However it looks like an incredibly practical (and adorable) solution for cloth diaper moms. I can picture using it which is key to jumping into something new that you haven't tried before. Also I was always a big fan of babies nightgowns and long socks at night as it was much more practical then a sleeper with buttons for late night diaper changes. And I feel this is a fashionable daytime version of my nightime baby wear.

And so I looked for leggings at local stores. One very expensive hit. So I looked online. Over and over I saw the average cost was $10 a pair. I found on-line tutorials and considered this as a possibility. And just as I was wondering what I should do, my Facebook mommy group posted a link with coupon codes. One was to WWW.babylegginngs.com
The coupon code (fableggings1) got me $50 off which means 5 free pairs with just the cost of shipping ($16cnd). Excellent price so I ordered these 5

Then today knowing I had a spare $20 I could spend on baby stuff. And having seen one to many adorable cloth and leggings pictures along with realizing this could be the main baby fashion in this house I decided that $20 would be another 5 pairs. So I ordered.these! :)

Well my excitement over this decision lead to my curiosity so I decided to research the baby leg-warmer trend. I wanted to know the year they came out as an alternative to pants for cloth babies. I didn't find that answer. What I did discover is the average size of baby leg-warmers. (8cm X 33cm, give or take).

HOLAY!! The real practicality of these just hit in that moment....babies don't grow out of these (confirmed by some more research). In that case the "big" price of these is actually a great investment just like cloth diapers. Which means I just got the deal of a life time. For less then $40 I have 10 sets of leggings that will serve as a replacement for pants (frequently) that are designed to last through potty training (depending on wear). When most baby clothes are grown out of in just a few months. This is incredible.

I'm really hoping my excitement over these lasts. Buying tops for baby #6 will mean co-ordinating with my leggings stock. Totally worth it. Although I may over time get a few more solids.

I've been complaining that the recent baby inventions seem ridiculous to me (baby food blenders when your regular one does the exact same job, diaper genie, video monitors that hook up to your phone to make moms more neurautic etc). If you have and like these items dont get upset with me, it just seems strange to me, likely cuz im a little old school. But these leg warmers seem like the most sensible idea I've seen. Even if they fit just a year thats a huge savings. And in all my excitement the concept of baby #6's first outfit came to me! For each of my kids I have made the outfit they first wore. What will baby #6 be sporting?...well that's another post. I will tell you this: • it will go with one of the leggings I ordered• its more edgy then what my others had. •it's April festive in a Tim Burton kinda way lol • there will be pics in less then 2 months! I had a great time today and am so excited for my mail to arrive.

TIPS FOR CLOTHING YOUR FLUFF BOTTOM BABY:
• tights, stretchy pants, and Pajama pants tend to roll over the waist of cloth diapers and end up with a wet waistband. Instead of placing waistband over the diaper, place it on the diaper.
• look at the butt and thighs of all pants you buy, and ask: "will it fit over a cloth diaper"? •learn and check out alternatives. -Nightgowns over PJ's - one piece over two piece - stretchy - wool - clothes with no butt such as dresses and baby legwarmers - clothes made by cloth diaper companies.

Off to dream world now while I dream of my cute fluff bum baby in leg-warmers. And on that note I will leave you with two commercial pics:
Today's cloth baby in leggings

And yesteryear's baby in a knit romper.