Fold-Over-Elastic Tutorial: Cuddle Bug Legwarmers

Everyone & their grandma has seen or heard of the baby legwarmers you can make from knee socks.  I've made a few myself & while they are cute there are some limitations.  I've noticed ours have snagged threads after they've been crawled around in.  Or the sewn-on cuff part gets stretched out too easily and won't stay up.  And making them for older kids isn't really an option.  And my last "gripe", they aren't really that warm. So I came up with this Cuddle Bug Legwarmer tutorial:

By ditching the socks & using FOE they would:

- Be the exact size & length desired
- Use whatever fabric you want (including minky, fleece & ultra cuddle)
- Keep little legs as toasty as wearing pants
- Have extra support & cuteness from using FOE

Here's how you can too:

You'll Need:
1/4 - 1/2yd fabric or less (depending on length desired)
1-2yds of Fold-Over-Elastic - I get mine from FOE Your Diaper
Sewing machine & notions (thread, scissors, measuring tape, ruler)

First take some leg measurements.  Measure around the upper thigh and add 1.5", next measure around the ankle and add 1.5".  Then measure from thigh to ankle to determine length.  For my 14 mos old, I ended up with 11" thigh, 9.5" ankle and 11" long.

For cutting, make sure the stretch of the fabric is widthwise, so the long sides of your pieces will be parallel to the fabric selvedges.  Cut two pieces so they will look like this:

Quick tip: For the super soft leg warmers shown, I used ultra cuddle fabric, so they would be marshmallow soft inside & out.  This fabric gives off a lot of fluff when cut, so I always put it in the dryer for about 10 min on air dry to remove the flyway bits.

Next cut the FOE.  Cut a piece for each thigh & ankle that is the measurement taken without the 1.5" added:

Now to sew the FOE on.  Fold it over the raw edge and start to stitch on using the triple-stitch zig-zag set at 5.0 wide by 2.0 long, making sure the stitching edges very close to the open edge of the FOE (so it won't curl upward with wear), like this:

The key is to stretch FOE towards you as you stitch, so that it's taut (you can see how big the snowflakes look because they are stretched out):  

When done it will look like this:

Now fold lengthwise, right sides facing and stitch together:

Trim seam allowance down and turn right side out.  Repeat with other leg warmer.  Ta-da!  Super cute, cuddlyy & legwarmers that actually keep legs warm!

I used some snowflake print FOE for the blue ones & made another pair with some green and this cute Ooga Monster FOE:

Aren't these little guys cute?

Tomorrow's tutorial will show to make super easy & super cute matching FOE headbands.

Sharing this with my FAVE LINK PARTIES too so check them out HERE!