Old-Sweater-Leggings

Believe it or not, in addition to the crazy amounts of fabric I brought with me, I also brought some old sweaters that I have no intention of wearing, but rather cutting up into bits for various projects.  How did I have room for this in our limited baggage allowance?  Here’s a secret–IcelandAir allows TWO free bags, so I brought clothes in one, my sewing machine in another, and stuffed fabric and yarn into every possible little crevice available.  I knew I wanted to make Everett some sweater pants, because I had a few great old sweaters perfect for this AND with the idea that something warm but snugly-fitting would be perfect under snow pants.  And he wears snow pants almost every day, even if there’s no snow, because it’s cold and there’s always at least dampness on the ground and he falls over a lot.  Did I mention that we go outside EVERY DAY?  It’s the only way to ensure he will both nap and sleep through the night (that’s right folks, THROUGH THE NIGHT, as in, at least for the next two months, I get a full nights sleep most nights–totally worth going outside even in ridiculous Icelandic weather)

But I digress:)  I won’t bother trying to do a tutorial for these because there are about a million already out there–here’s one that looks about like what I did, but all you have to do is google it to get several versions.  I will say, though, that the rise on these did not end up as deep as I would have liked because I did a pretty long inseam for my tall little toddler, so they’re kinda low-riders.  I also added an extra panel in the back of two pairs, just to make sure the diaper would fit inside.  Otherwise, these were quick and dirty, no frills, not even CLOSE to neat seams, and what I would give for a serger to make them a little more durable!  Zig-zag stitch worked ok though.
I was so anxious to get started one night that I didn’t even take a picture of the green sleeves before they became pants!  Then, of course, it took at least two weeks before the rest got done as I lost a little bit of steam:)
An old J.Crew sweater, the rest of which I used for the lion snuggly way back last spring.
These did have an extra panel in the back, but didn’t really need it.

 I love these, though, check out the waistband–look kinda funny?  Yeah, I totally sewed the elastic casing inside-out.  When will I learn?  DON’T SEW WHEN VERY TIRED!!  I just left it, b/c they work.
Sorry for the darkish picture but you can clearly see the extra back panel here; these are thinner cotton, navy stripe on white, so adorable and comfy.
 All of these work perfectly under snow pants as well as for every day wear, and as cozy pi’s.  I kinda want some.