Sewing for baby: knit baby leggings
I love to make baby pants and leggings. I always have so many cute baby onesies hanging around that making tops seems fairly pointless, but pants? Leggings?? Bring it on. So far I’ve made these and these, and now…there’s more. From knits this time. Hopefully these will fit when Baby Boy is newly hatched:
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Oh yes and the adorable kitty pants were from the same pattern, just with a drawstring made of a strip of jersey:
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Someone needs to stage an intervention.
It all started innocently enough…I just thought I’d try to chop the feet off of the free pattern in my Baby Tights Tutorial. That worked great for this little navy striped pair, which are made of rib knit:
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Super cute right? But then when Tashina was cutting out another pair here at the studio, she accidentally put the fold down the center of the pant instead of along the leg, and it was just as cute. So we tweaked the shape a little, added a cuff, and we had a new pattern!
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And then we made a free pattern (link below) just in case YOU want to make a pair! Or twenty!
I’m calling these the Just Hatched Leggings, though I suspect that they will fit more like pants in the very beginning. If you add a cuff they might even fit 3-6 months? Who knows? You’ll just have to give it a try. Here’s how to make them!
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JUST HATCHED BABY LEGGINGS
Please remember: all of my blog and pattern content is protected by copyright, including this tutorial and pattern. Do not repost or distribute. When linking to this tutorial/pattern, please link to the blog post URL but not directly to the download file itself. Thanks!
You will need:
A small amount of knit fabric; jersey or interlock recommended for main pant, rib knit recommended for cuffs
1/2″ wide elastic
3″ piece of ribbon for a tag to mark the back (optional)
The pattern (click the button below), printed at 100%
To make the basic legging:
Step 1: Cut out two main pant pieces using the free pattern template, link above. Hey, if you used an old t-shirt for your fabric, you could use the bottom of the t-shirt for the hems of the leggings!! The stretchiest direction of your fabric should run perpendicular to the fold. Place the two main pieces with their right sides together. Sew along the sides and bottom curve with a 3/8″ seam.
NOTE: Use a ballpoint or stretch needle on your machine. A straight stitch will work if you have a walking foot and/or stretch thread, but if you’re using standard polyester thread and presser foot, use a long narrow zig-zag stitch for your stitches.
Step 2: Fold and press down 3/4″ along the top edge, toward the inside of the leggings. Stitch along the lower edge to make a waistband casing, leaving a 1-2″ hole in the center of the back (just pick a side) for the elastic. If you want cuffs, skip to the next step and add the cuffs later (see handy infographic, below). If you don’t want cuffs, fold and press 1/2″ toward the wrong side along the bottom of the legs and stitch along the raw edge to hem them. Read this post on hemming knits for some tips if you like.
Step 3: Cut 14″ of elastic (or measure baby’s waist and add 1″) and thread it through the waistband with a safety pin.
Step 4: Overlap the ends of the elastic by 1/2″ and zig zag stitch them together a few times.
Step 5: Fold the piece of ribbon in half and stuff the ends into the opening in the waistband for a tag to mark the back. This is if you want your mate to put them on the right way, EVER. Now stitch that shut.
To add the cuffs: (these will fit longer because they ARE longer)
Step 1: Cut out two cuff pieces with the stretchiest direction of the fabric running the length of the cuffs. Fold them in half with the wrong side of the fabric facing out and the short ends together. Sew along the short end with a 3/8″ seam.
Step 2: Press the seam allowance apart.
Step 3: Fold each cuff in half so that it is double-layered and the right side is on the outside.
Step 4: Place each cuff over the end of each leg (legging should be right side out) so that the ends of the leg are even with the two raw cuff edges. Line up the inner leg seam with the cuff seam, and pin the cuff to the leg (you’ll have to stretch out the cuff a little bit to make it fit the end of the leg; that’s because the cuffs are smaller than the ends of the legs). Sew through all three layers with a 3/8″ seam.
Step 5: Flip the cuffs downward so that the seam is inside. Voila! Finished cuffs!
Here are a few links you might like:
My KNITS page (for all of the knit sewing hints referenced in this post)
Baby Tights Tutorial
And here are all of my “Sewing for Baby” posts:
Cloth Diapers
Adorable Kitty OutfitNewborn Pants
Nursing Pillow Cover Tutorial (+free pattern!)
Bringing Back Big Butt Baby Pants