Homemade "Babylegs" ?

[strollernut]

I've read of mammas making their own babylegs out of ladies knee socks? Any advice? Does it matter if the socks are mostly cotton or not? I have some babylegs, and they are mostly cotton, but all the knee socks I've looked at are mostly acrylic. Also, any tips on finding ladies knee socks for little boy-legs? The closest I could find was some powder blue striped toe socks. Do you put elastic in the cut end, or just hem them?

[SabDoulaMommy]

I don't know the answer to your question, per se, but I did used to put nylon knee highs on my dd when she was 2 or so. She hated wearing pants & I hated buying new tights weekly, so knee highs was the perfect solution. I tried to find trouser socks w/o heels for more colors & textures, but it was difficult. Good luck w/ yours!

[Bufflum]

"Babee Leggs"

Over on the DIY forum of TBW, we've been whipping up TONS of DIY "Babee Leggs".

Here's a link to the thread over there:
http://www.thebabywearer.com/forum/v...er=asc&start=0

Here are some pics of DD in ours (we used WalMart toe socks and cut the toes off):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...nne_hearts.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...ne_stripes.jpg

Here are some 'how to' pics:

The first cut:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...lum/hearts.jpg

Pile of finished ones (I used rib knit for cuffs):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...ished-legs.jpg

And, when I ran out of rib knit, I used cuffs from an old pair of DD's socks:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...arts_socks.jpg

Finished pair (for Valentine's Day):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...s_finished.jpg

They're addicting -- have fun!

[MelMel]

wow, thats great! our babylegs are sooooo tight on my 3 year old AND 4 month olds thighs they leave red welts i was so so sad but maybe i can put wider homemade cuffs on them..cool

[earthenware]

Well, that link was just awesome! Now, an hour later, I'm a member at The Babywearer and want to rush out and make some of these!

You know, just yesterday (no kidding) I was thinking about ordering some Baby Legs, though I've never even seen them just heard of their function. This is so perfect!

[earthenware]

... just got back from buying knee socks...

[scrapadoozer]

OOh, cool! I am coming back to this when I get home!

[pbreffe]

Wait... I am confused... what exactly is the purpose of this??? So that baby doesn't have to wear pants?? And if so... where do you buy boyish looking socks?

[earthenware]

Yup, I'm hoping it will keep his legs warm so he can just wear a diaper/cover around the house (no pants). Just more comfy (you how tight some pants are over cloth dipes) and way easier for changes. I've heard people raving about Baby Legs (brand name) and wanted to give them a try... and now I can! For cheap! And no waiting for shipping to Canada! Wheee!

I have a boy and I bought black knee-highs. They are ladies' but there were some in the men's department, too. I just liked the weave and the cuff on these ones. There were some awesome grey/black/red ones with very masculine patterns/weaves in the men's dept. HTH!

[pbreffe]

You know that is a great idea! I am sick of the fact that the clothes industry doesn't take into thought that fact that some of us use cloth diapers!!

[Bufflum]

Just an FYI -- the toe socks I used from Walmart didn't have a heel in them, so they were basically long tubes with toes. I don't know if regular knee socks would be long enough once they were cut at the ankles (these ended up being 13" long).

Folks over at TBW love BabyLegs for a few reasons:

1) Worn babies often have ankle gaps (brrr... chilly) where their pants ride up once they're in a carrier;

2) Makes diaper changes a BREEZE -- honestly, you'll never want to put a pair of pants on your kiddo again!

3) No more struggling to find pants that will fit over cloth diapers

4) No more covering up really cute diaper covers!

[discojoy]

You know, I bet you could make some really cute baby legs out of sweater sleeves also. Oh no, now I have a reason to look for cotton sweaters at the thrift store instead of just wool. And now my pile of sweaters in the sewing room will grow exponentially, I'm sure.

Somebody help me! I'm becoming a monster!

[earthenware]

Check it out!!

http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bei...JCxhEBJp84miMW

I used women's knee-socks (really long, the length was okay even with the whole foot cut off but it is a good idea to make before you buy them!) and because of the cuff and weave style, I found it was better to use the sock knee-cuff as the Baby Leg ankle cuff and the best part? The cut off top, where I should have had to do my own cuff, just rolled over and stayed up just fine! (I may have to do something eventually but for now they work perfectly.)

This was my easiest and most satisfying project ever! Especially if you are used to sewing diapers, this took me about 15 seconds and they were on my son and running around the house within 20!

[earthenware]

Originally Posted by discojoy

Somebody help me! I'm becoming a monster!

: ... at least you're in good company here!

It could be worse, you know... you could be one of those strung-out PUL junkies, pedalling their goods on the TP, trying to raise money for some PP to afford their next fix... totally not helped out by the availability of co-ops, either. Poor souls.

[tenecwalker]

Thanks for the links! I'm going to have to make some. If only I would have thought about it when Target was doing their reset and clearancing all those lovely socks (I work there).

Jamie

[tenecwalker]

Looks good. Love the dipe too =)

Jamie

[tenecwalker]

Ryan is so little that if he doesn't wear a cloth diaper his 12 month pants fall right off!

Jamie

[westernmamomma]

Those are so cute! I'm going to have to go a'hunting for some socks to cut apart. Not like I don't have enough to do already, but hey why not!

[loobop]

Strollernut---Thanks for the great post and photos!! So helpful mama!

[peekyboo]

I just may have to try this out! I bought a couple pairs of the wider style Baby Legs, but they were still a little too snug to be worn above the knee on dd - which defeats the purpose of them for me.

And if I can make my own, then I can sell the others on the TP, thus allowing me to buy more diaper fabric <insert mad scientist laughter here>