Any advice on making sweater longies for a young toddler?

[emmaegbert]

Its been 2 years since I made the grand total of two sweater soakers I've got under my belt, so I am both green and a little rusty. Plus, that time I made longies for an infant, and shortie soaker for my preschooler (for nighttime).

This time I want to make some sweater-pants for my young toddler. We are doing EC (well, ec-lite, we offer and use the potty frequently, but she pees in her dipe frequently too) and I think that these would be a good option over fitted diaper- easy to pull up and down for using the potty, but not a big deal if she pees, and they should be cute and functional to wear under dresses, tunics, etc.

Do you recommend doing the "sweaterpants" with a straight seam up the crotch, or maybe instead trying to copy some pants with gussets/crotch/shaping?

On that note, should I maybe add a thicker wool layer in the "wet zone"? Esp since I plan to repurpose some 100% cashmere sweaters I found for $4 at goodwill?

should I use elastic in the waist or does using the sweater bottom really keep the pants up when they are being used as pants, not UNDER pants? I don't want a drawstring b/c I am hopeful that my toddler will be moving towards potty independence while she still fits the pants.

Other tips and tricks?

I am also thinking that I can use other parts of the sweater bodies to make some cute woolie dresses or vests or tunics for her... hmm... anyone done that too?

[jrabbit]

Have fun!

I don't have a lot of time right now, but maybe my pictures will help you?
http://philhyde.smugmug.com/Family/S...37974192_gMkZH

I don't like elastic waistbands - I'm planning to experiment with drawstrings soon ...

I'm thinking about making a tunic/dress with scraps, but I haven't done it myself, though.

[emmaegbert]

jrabbit, SO CUTE! So you just use a ribbed part of sweater and size it to be snug on the waist? The sweater pants look AWESOME.

I made a pair w/ a drawstring waist for a newborn, but thought for a sometimes potty-using toddler, that would be a PITA.

If I ever manage to make the covers and dresses I am imagining, I'll share some pics.

[thebigfam]

ok those are the CUTEST!!!! I have ever seen!

[thehappydeer]

We have had great luck just using the ribbed part of the sweater as a gentle waist band, but once we moved out of diapers, they fall down pretty easy. We have PT eC'd with a fitted and wool pants and it worked great for us. I never used a gusseted pattern b/c I kind of just wing it and I never took the time to figure it out. Our fitteds are pretty trim and by adding a little extra to the rise we've always had plenty of room.

My biggest tip is to shop in the men's sweater section of the thrift store to find the best material, especially to XXl section. I've found amazing and super gigantic merino and cashmere there and these larger sizes are especially helpful when you start making pieces for older babes and toddlers.

[DisplacedYooper]

I've made elastic waists and sweater bottom waists - both work reasonably well. If you're going for a sweater bottom waist, I'd try to make a higher rise, so that if they don't quite stay up, you can just fold the top over to make a casing for some elastic.

[jperiod]

Originally Posted by jrabbit

Have fun!

I don't have a lot of time right now, but maybe my pictures will help you?
http://philhyde.smugmug.com/Family/S...37974192_gMkZH

I don't like elastic waistbands - I'm planning to experiment with drawstrings soon ...

I'm thinking about making a tunic/dress with scraps, but I haven't done it myself, though.

Are you using a serger to acheive those cute scalloped edges? I don't have a serger but wondered if I could do that with my regular machine.

[artzy_fartzy68]

from one large mens sweater, cut one pair of longies from the body, using a one-piece pants pattern. Then use the sleeves to make another pair of pants, but add a 2" square gusset to the crotch. (there's got to be a tute somewhere for adding a crotch gusset).
You can use elastic for the waist, drawstring, or make a "yoga pants waist" out of the remainders of the sweater.
You can do lettuce edging (i'm assuming that's what you're asking about w/out looking at the pic) by sewing a zigzag at the edge of the fabric while stretching it at the same time. Ok, looked. yep, lettuce edging. Super simple!
However, if you want shorts or pants hemmed, just move the pattern down the body so the place where the hem would go is at the waistband of the sweater (or cuffs, on sleeves) saving yourself the effort of hemming.

This has given me a great idea for tutorials for my blog...awesome!!

Oh yeah, you don't need thick wool, cashmere is lovely and works great! You don't have to "felt" a darn thing, AND you can use a sweater with as little as 25% or so wool as long as the rest is a synthetic OR other animal fiber...not cotton , for ex. I have made TWO GAZILLION of these, so it's hard for me to condense my wealth of knowledge in this small post.

[jrabbit]

I would like to share photos my newest round of sweater-shorts & pants. I'm taking them to sell at the local Birth Fair this weekend. Most of the ones pictured would fit 9-18 months, but I've got a few littler ones and some bigger ones cut out.

I'm going to finally experiment with drawstrings this winter, since I'm crossing my fingers that Zoe will be out of diapers soon!!! ok, maybe that's a little ambitious, but one can hope, right?

--janis

[MamaGlow]

Those are adorable! And I must say you've done a fantastic job matching stripes! Really great! I'm sure they'll go quickly at the Fair! Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

[jperiod]

Originally Posted by jrabbit

I would like to share photos my newest round of sweater-shorts & pants. I'm taking them to sell at the local Birth Fair this weekend. Most of the ones pictured would fit 9-18 months, but I've got a few littler ones and some bigger ones cut out.
--janis

Those are SO cute!! You've really inspired me!

[laurabfig]

Originally Posted by artzy_fartzy68 

Oh yeah, you don't need thick wool, cashmere is lovely and works great! You don't have to "felt" a darn thing, AND you can use a sweater with as little as 25% or so wool as long as the rest is a synthetic OR other animal fiber...not cotton , for ex. I have made TWO GAZILLION of these, so it's hard for me to condense my wealth of knowledge in this small post.

Thanks for letting us newbies-to-making-longies know all this info...I was ready to felt a beautiful cashmere thrift-store sweater and am glad to know that I don't have to.  It feels so wonderfully soft right now and I'm not sure how it would be after felting it....  I'll try to post pics when I am done making my first 2 pairs...have had the sweaters for a few weeks and need to get to work on them!!!

[cyclamen]

I also love cashmere, and elastic waists.  I do straight sweaterpants with a really high rise and no shaping, and I don't do an extra layer.  My DD is not a super soaker though.  These are my favorite projects because they take so little time to sew.  For a pattern, I just lay a folded pair of her pants on the wool and cut.