diy baby leg warmers

Emily seems to love when she has her pants off during a diaper change, assumingly as it lets her kick her little legs free of any restraint.  As the cool frigid winter months approach, I wanted to find something that would cover her little legs but still give her the same range of motion whenever we’re lazing around the house.

Leg warmers seemed the logical option, but have you seen the prices?  They’re not astronomical but why would I pay $10+ when I can make them at home for less than a quarter of the price.  I searched the web high and low and found this to the best at home version.

First, pick up some socks at Walmart or the dollar store.  Mine were around $2 a pair but I’m sure you could find them cheaper.

My first pair I used girls knee high socks.  I cut them up so that I could utilize the straight parts of the leg and sole of the foot. 

Next, I turned the small piece from the bottom of the sock to form a cuff by folding it in half so that the ‘right side’ is on the inside and outside.  If done properly you should have two cut edges together.  Line the cut edges of the cuff up with the cut edge of the leg portion as shown below.  If you need a better description, check out the original tutorial here.

Now, just sew around the warmer about a 1/4 inch from the cut edges.  Stop every 1.5 inches to make sure your 3 layers are still lined up properly.  Try not to stretch out the cuff as you are sewing around it as it will lead to a too loose warmer.

Here’s what the finished warmer looks like when you flip up the cuff:

Next, I used a pair of ladies crew socks and followed the above steps.

And here’s the finished product:

Here is a comparison of the two.  The girls knee high’s are longer and skinnier, good for Em’s long, petite frame (but still enough room for her chubby thighs!), while the ladies crew socks turned into a slightly wider, shorter leg warmer.  The second ones won’t fit her legs for long; live and learn.

The warmers are also useful for under the baby gowns.  Em tends to kick her legs out at night so I like the extra layer on her legs while still making diaper changes easy.

So for less than half of the price of a pair in stores, I made 2 pairs of my own and got to pick my own patterns.