Friday 27 September 2013

Refashion Friday: Knitwear Baby Trousers


Now this of course is not a new idea. Heaps of peops have turned unwanted knitwear into cosy baby trousers before (in fact I've done it before myself) because it's just such a blooming good idea! I decided to make some for our imminent Missy after buying a baby carrier at a nearly-new sale last weekend. I swiftly realised that her little legs might get mighty chilly hanging out the bottom of the carrier during Winter. See? It's not all pretty-and-everything-but-potentially-not-going-to-get-used-much baby sewing round here!   


Probably much to Pat's annoyance, I've been carting round a large bin bag full of old jumpers and scraps of knitwear during the last couple of flat moves we've made. Some of the knitwear was harvested from the embers of the TRAIDremade studio, and then when friends found out I was collecting unwanted knitwear I also got donated a fair bit. Last Christmas I was using it to make lots of pairs of mittens to sell at craft fairs, which was a great success. Then I gave most of the leftover stock as Christmas presents (genius, no?!). I had every intention of making and selling more mittens again this Christmas, but with Missy on her way and the loss of the 'thrill of the new' means that I know I probably won't. Plus all the women I know already have a pair of my mittens now so all the left over stock would end up sitting around at the end of this Christmas's selling season! 

So I delved into my knitwear stash and found a few garments to have a whirl at turning into baby trousers. The wool jumper pictured above, for example, used to be Pat's. It finally lost the battle against moths and I put it in a hot wash to felt it up in preparation for making mittens. Instead it's become the warmest of the pairs of baby trousers! 


I decided to use the same pattern as the recent jersey trouser making marathon I went on. The pattern is so easy to construct and I prefer the narrower leg than the previous baby trousers I've made in the past. I had to restrain myself to only cutting out three pairs to see how they went (cut out pieces pictured above). When I come across a quick project like this, my natural inclination is to go mental and MAKE ALL THE THINGS, but until I know how useful they'll be to us, it seemed a bit pointless to make more. 


When I made the jumper trousers for baby Joe, his mama Sophie requested that I make them extra long. Her thinking was that the trousers could be rolled up at the bottom and last a long time. Apparently, those trousers are still going strong nearly two years later (although she did have to replace the waist elastic to make them more accommodating a year in). I took that into account when making these for our Missy and made the size bigger than she'll probably need this Winter, plus added extra length to the leg. That way we can roll them up this year (see above) but hopefully she'll get two years worth of wear from them. Hurrah for potentially-practical baby sewing! 

21 comments:

tialys said...

Great idea! Just love those stripy ones.

Anonymous said...

Leg length is pretty crucial if you're using a carrier. The way the baby sits inside a carrier (esp the Ergo style) means the trousers are usually hitched up a bit and there is definite potential for cold ankles!

Unknown said...

Aw I just LOVE these - they are so so cute! And it's pretty cool that wee Missy will be wearing her Dads old jumper!

Louise said...

I love these. They look so comfy. Might make something similar for my little miss.

Karla Bryant said...

If any of these are made from woollen jumpers then they can also act as nappy covers just by lanolizing them (just use a pea blob of lansinoh in hot water). I used these and was surprised at how good they were.

Anonymous said...

cute baby trousers and such a great idea. If you plan to carry her in a carrier (I just hope it is a good one ...) the legs and feet definitely are the parts of her that need to be taken care of. I carried my little baby (now turning 3) alot during winter (she was born end of december) cause we had tons of snow and a pram didn't get us anywhere. Wrapping a scarve around you and the babys lower half is also a great way to protect her legs and feet from getting too cold.
Have fun, Susanne

Anonymous said...

Very cute & practical!! I carried mine both in slings exclusively whilst they were small & made myself a babywearing coat out of two fleeces , I can't remember where I had the tute from but essentially you make an extra panel out of the back & zip from one fleece, u can then zip it into the other one (if that makes sense??!!) Kept us both Glasgow and warm all winter & was much more convenient than layering us both separately!! Although someone once asked me is I had a puppy in my coat!!! X

Anonymous said...

That should say toastie not Glasgow!!! Lol

Becky x

Unknown said...

Tooo cute!
Px

Lovenicky said...

Wonderful job! I made tops and pants for my baby with thrifted pure merino wool jumpers too! I actually made them for her to go out as well as to sleep in because I was advised not to put any blankets on her when she was very little. And even now at almost 2.5, she would kick off her warm blanket within 5 minutes of sleeping. These wool outfits really helped keep her warm inside and outside the house since she was born.

Crab and Bee said...

These are the cutest! What a great way to bust through some old knits.

Cassandra said...

So cute! Almost everything I make for my babies is a refashion. My other half shakes his head at the bags of old clothes i hoard for refashions! Lol

Frank Vinyl said...

ahhh so cute!!!
francesca
Frank Vinyl. A california personal style blog

Tia Dia said...

Love love LOVE these! They are just so darned cute!

Eddie said...

That is such a great idea which for some reason I had completely forgotten about again. I think I will make a few for Bess for this coming winter.

Gaenor said...

One of the most useful features in children's clothing that I have found is the elastic with button holes in. As the clother of 3 children with long legs and skinny middles it is the only way to keep their trousers up and their ankles warm at the same time.
May help with the longevity of baby clothes...

Sandy Gafree said...

These wool outfits really helped keep her warm inside and outside the house since she was born.

White + Warren said...

All knitwear are really cute, thanks for sharing. Try at White + Warren for more designs and colors of baby's knitwear.

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