Recycled Leg Warmers

Storm's school is finishing up a unit on recycling. They are having a fashion show where the kids can show what they have learned by making clothing and accessories from recycling and reusing.  She has a tin can purse, some toilet paper earrings, and a few other items already made. I've had this idea for making leg warmers out of an old sweater booked marked for quite a while and this seemed like a good opportunity to try it out.

I have three of the same sweaters, just in different colors, so I decided I could sacrifice one of Storm's choice to her cause.

Cut off the sleeves of your sweater. I cut mine straight across by the armpit. You're going to also need the bottom waist cuff of your sweater so cut that off too.


Cut your waist cuff the right length to match the top of your sleeve, with a seam allowance. Make sure it will fit your ankle/calf! Sew it right sides together into a circle. I sewed it with a straight stitch twice and then zig zagged it a couple of times, hoping to control any fraying.

Now there are two ways you can sew your cuff to your legging. You can sew it with the right side of the cuff facing the wrong side of the sleeve. This will create a fold down cuff. You can sew a button onto the outside to hold down the cuff. Since my leg warmers are for just for Storm's Trashion Show, I went the simple way and sewed right sides together. I also didn't have two buttons I could use for the fold down cuff! Made the decision simpler.

Line your seams up and sew the shit out of it. Okay, I don't know as that's strictly necessary but  I sewed around a few times and then zigzagged the edges.

Flip them out the right way and tada! You have yourself a set of free leg warmers.

How very 1985 of you.