Sunday, December 02, 2007

Rock the Casbah Baby Leg Warmers

Well, its been a long time since I've posted anything on this blog; I just haven't been inventing new patterns, although I've been crocheting and knitting up a storm. My baby is overdue now and I'm getting so excited and anxious and impatient. But, mostly I'm kind of excited to start using Elimination Communication. And because my little Harper is due in the middle of winter, I thought that using baby leg warmers would make a whole lot of sense. The nicest ones I've found were Baby Legs, but I'm not in a position to pay upwards of $20 for a pair of leg warmers...especially when I have an evergrowing stash of yarn and the time to knit my own.

After a lengthy search of online patterns, I could find only one other pattern specifically designed for baby's legs! And they looked a little bulky for what I wanted. So, I managed to get a sample from my local baby clothing shop and did some simple math and gauge swatches and knitted up a pair of my own. This the first pair; they are quite stiff, but would be breathable in the summer. My husband came up with the name!

Pattern:

Materials
I used Bernat kitchen cotton, but any light-medium weight yarn will do, depending on your needs, approximately 100g
size 2.5mm knitting needles (circular or straight, doesn't matter; if you are comfortable with dpn's, it would save you knitting up the seam at the end), or size to obtain gauge
darning needle

Gauge
26sts X 32rows = 10cm (4")

Pattern
Knit 2 (I knit them at the same time, to ensure duplication)
Cast on 39 sts (if using dpn's, 13 stitches on each of 3 needles).
Knit in 1X1 ribbing for 2cm (.75"), approximately 6 rows
Knit is stockingnette stitch until piece measures 26cm (11.25"), approximately 91 rows.
Knit in 1X1 ribbing for 2cm (.75"), approximately 6 rows.
Bind off.
If knit on straight needles, use darning needle to sew up the back seam.

If there are any questions or corrections, please feel free to post!