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Second-Life Leg Warmers: Restyle Sweater Sleeves into Leg Warmers That Rock

January 8th, 2009 in patterns & designs, fashion, restyle, knitting

Tina Hilton, contributor

14 users recommend

Visit your local thrift for a wealth of crafty raw material.

Sleeves with a variety of patterns and colors make great leg warmers.

Lacy leg warmers are right on trend!

Photo: Tina Hilton

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I have always been a fan of leg warmers since I first saw Jennifer Beals strutting her stuff in the infamous “Maniac” scene in Flashdance. Guess what? Leg warmers are back with a vengeance. From the runway to mall merchants, leg warmers have been popping up in a variety of sexy yet practical styles. Etsy.com has tons available for sale and you can find patterns in the latest knitting mags including the high-fashion European Verena and online pattern resource Knitty.

Visit your local thrift for a wealth of crafty raw material.

A trip to a mega Goodwill in Dallas recently yielded two huge bags of thrift store crafty goodness. I slipped the sweater sleeves over my calves to check the fit and baffled the other shoppers with the sleeves encasing my legs and the rest of the sweater dragging along in the wake searching for a mirror. Ahh, what we have to do to satisfy our creative brilliance!

Needless to say I found a couple of sweaters perfect for leg warmer fashion. As I was searching through racks of sweaters, I was on the lookout for an interesting pattern and color. The sleeves needed to be snug, soft, and machine washable. I was also looking for a sleeve that could be disconnected from the body without having to cut, thus avoiding the unraveling issue. You should look for a sweater that is stitched together with thread or yarn; if the edges are serged together, the sweater will unravel. A clean amputation from the body allows you to use the rest of the sweater without destroying it.

Sleeves with a variety of patterns and colors make great leg warmers.

Sleeves with an openwork design will look great over colored tights.

Supplies

Sweater to suit your size, style, and material preference
Stitch ripper
Small, sharp scissors
Sewing machine

Step by Step
Turn the sweater inside out and cut the thread that attaches the sleeve to the body.

A super-sharp seam ripper will make the task fast and accurate.

The yarn was fuzzy, so it was best to cut the stitching as opposed to ripping the stitches from the center.

If the sweater has set-in sleeves, the top of the sleeve will be uneven and will taper to the armhole. If you are able, you may wish to unravel it to create an even top or cut with your scissors.

I ended up cutting off the top to shorten as it was difficult to unravel this tightly knit bouclé yarn.

If you were able to unravel it, pick up the stitches on small circular needles or DPNs and bind off the edge. If you had to cut it, secure the raw edge on your sewing machine with a zigzag stitch.

To keep from unraveling, secure with a zigzag stitch.

So toasty and stylish!

Over-the-knee Pretty Woman style.

I have made these two long pairs so far, but there are a couple more to be finished next week. They look great with a short or long skirt over tights or in warmer climes with bare legs. What do you think about a pair of chenille leg warmers to wear with a fuzzy robe? What will you make and how will you wear them? How about baby, kid, and dog versions?

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posted in: patterns & designs, fashion, restyle, knitting, Leg warmers, restyle sweater sleeves to legwarmers, repurpose sweaters

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Comments (5)

JenniferStern writes: This is the perfect thing to whip up to wear with your yoga pants...My legs have been a little nippy running in and out of yoga class. I noticed my yoga teacher was wearing leg warmers to cover her legs below the hem of her yoga pants...I told her to check you out on Craftstylish so she could make some more (and I'll get to it too!) Thanks for the idea
Posted: 1:47 pm on January 20th

Tina_Hilton writes: Hi queenofpurls - Super idea for cast off cashmere. I have just the sweater in my stash...
Posted: 9:36 am on January 11th

Tina_Hilton writes: Hi Jen1964 - The legwarmers will stay up if the sleeves of the sweater feel snug on your legs. If you want them slouchy, pick a sweater that has larger sleeves, perhaps from a big guy sweater. Check back in February for pet project month to see what we have in store for the pups in your life!
Posted: 9:35 am on January 11th

queenopearls writes: Yeah! Great idea! You've inspired me to use some of the $2.99 wool sweaters to make wrist warmers. A too-small cashmere sweater, now felted, is becoming super soft wrist warmers. Thank you so much!
Posted: 5:03 pm on January 10th

Jen1964 writes: Love the lace ones especially. Do they stay up? I never got used to using leg warmers. Never got used to thermals either, really. Love the idea of something to go with the fuzzy robe! Seems the P.J. industry forgot about that, and not all of us like flannel... The dog version IS something I've tried - on our little dog, one sleeve = 1 doggie sweater, with a little sewing and crocheting. I'm not the type to match the dog, or... ... ... is suppose you could - but I think we're all safe, since I haven't seen any 3 sleeved sweaters! I like your co-worker's idea of making pillows out of the body. almost no waste!

Posted: 8:15 am on January 10th

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