Baby Leggings Tutorial + Pattern

45 Comments

There are a million and a half legging tutorials out there and how to make your own. No joke. This is one of them. How is this any different than the others? The tutorial is illustrated(makes it easier in some parts, in my opinion), I don’t thread the elastic, there’s NO HEMMING required and this tutorial includes a printable pattern for leggings size 9-12 months. I hate hemming and threading elastic. Don’t you? See the list of a few of my favorite legging tutorials at the end of the tutorial.

I used a vintage knit given to me from my friend, Stacy, gave to me not long after I had Felix. I’ve been meaning to make leggings out of this since I first laid eyes on this awesomeness. I love the little monsters and random illustrations!

 

Once I figured out the pattern, these little leggings took about 10 minutes to whip up. I stitched together another pair for a friend of mine who just had a baby boy not too long ago. Make these baby leggings for a baby boy, baby girl or for a friend who’s choosing not to find out the sex of her little one. Check out the tutorial after the jump.

• BASIC BABY LEGGINGS •

Supplies: sewing machine, knit fabric (1/2 yard to be safe), 1 inch elastic, scissors, pins

  1. Print out your pattern and assemble. Cut out fabric pieces along a fold and perpendicular to the stretch of your knit. Refer to the diagram above.
  2. Turn fabric wrong-side out and sew along side seams. Do the same for the cuffs.
  3. Turn each piece right-side out and press seams. Fold the cuffs in half, so the ends of each seam meet together. The wrong side of the fabric should not show on the cuffs.
  4. Attach the cuffs to the leggings by pinning right sides together and sewing along the edge. Turn cuffs over and press seams.

  1. With your leggings right-side out, pin the legs together, starting with the inseam. Match the inseam together and pin out to each side.
  2. Once you’ve finished pinning, sew along the two edges. Turn right-side out and press the seam.
  3. Cut a 16 inch length of your elastic. Zig zag stitch ends together. Pin to the right side of the waist of your leggings and sew with a small zig zag stitch.
  4. Turn the elastic over and press along the seam. Zigzag stitch the elastic into place.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

 

 

 

• OPTIONAL •

You can easily adjust this pattern to different sizing by using old leggings as a guide for your pattern. Check out these other leggings tutorials for more ideas: Basic Leggings • Printed Leggings • Ruffle Bum Leggings • Ruched Leggings • Making Leggings

 

This tutorial/freebie is free for personal use and should not be distributed/republished without the express consent of Melissa Esplin. I love getting shout outs from around the web, but please, link with love. Do not copy this post, publish more than 2 photos or outright steal this idea for commercial publications. If you would like to use this tutorial for commercial purposes, please email me. Thanks!

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  1. Miranda says:

    Amen sister. Cuffs are definitely the way to go. I can’t wait to whip little Eliot up some leggings. Thanks for taking the pattern-making work out of the equation for me!

    xo

  2. Um, I want to make those for myself!

  3. Pamela says:

    That fabric is cute and your little boy is just precious.

    Alternatively you can pin the legs right sides together with one leg inside the other and then sew up the U of the crotch. By far the easiest way I’ve found to make any kind of pant.

  4. […] Baby Leggings Tutorial + Pattern – 2 freebie(s) […]

  5. anna says:

    great tutorial. :) love those illustrations

  6. mer says:

    so cute. will have to make some of these for Little O.
    xo
    Mer

  7. Emily says:

    Melissa, thank you so much for this pattern and tutorial! I got stressed out just looking at your illustrations because I can only imagine the amount of time you spent drawing those little pants. Also, that fabric is just PERFECT.

  8. Julia says:

    Being 17 weeks pregnant, I am certainly going to make these for the next little one! And Felix’s smile kills me! What a doll!

  9. Tara says:

    What a beautiful picture!

  10. Karen says:

    Great tutorial. I’m pinning this. :-)

  11. […] More: Baby Leggings Tutorial + Pattern » ISLY | I Still Love You This entry is filed under […]

  12. mandie says:

    I’m going to try this method next & see which I like better. I’m thinking this one since there are less seams. :)

  13. […] drafted from a pair of her old leggings (using this method) using an interlocking knit in pink. The pink leggings with the teal top was much to sweet for my […]

  14. this is a great tutorial. so clear and make it sound so easy! thank you!

  15. Thanks for posting this, I have always wanted to make my own for my little girl. I regularly follow your blog and find it inspiring, so I’m passing along the Sunshine Award to you today for all of your creativity and inspiration! Come on over to LeslieMarquezDesigns.blogspot.com to check it all out~

  16. […] that the parents will be thanking you for a few months from now, considering sizing up–this baby leggings tutorial from I Still Love You, which can be made using an upcycled T-shirt, is sized at 9 months. Size the […]

  17. kendascrafts says:

    Thanks for the pattern! I’ve been meaning to make some leggings/skinny pants for my little guy for a while, but have been too lazy to figure out a pattern. thanks for doing the work for me!!

  18. […] sewed everything in a slightly different order than the leggings that I made for Felix, and I like how it went. It was a bit […]

  19. maggie says:

    Thank you very much for your generous sharing, Melissa. Ten minutes to sew, but a lot more to put the instructions and pattern on the web for us.

  20. […] to start from scratch for her next pair. For how to make baby leggings (9-12 mo pattern included) click here. For mama leggings, click […]

  21. Noor says:

    How darling I just love these. I would love to have a pair of white and black triangle ones for my son but I am so bad at sewing even though I went to fashion design school.

  22. janeellen says:

    thanks so much! really lovely and versatile! i have just made a pair of baby leggings out of a pair of jumper sleeves- which did work. but these are better.

  23. Kaely says:

    This is a great tutorial and pattern – I LOVE the illustrations! I also really like how you did the cuff and the waist-band. I have done that type of cuff with leg warmers made from long socks, but never thought of doing it with leggings! The only pair I’ve attempted so far I used a stretchy long-sleeve t-shirt and used the sleeve cuffs as the bottom of the pants, because I hate hemming :)

  24. Bethany says:

    Hello! I’ve been looking for a good tutorial that I can follow to make leggings to sell on etsy to earn myself some Christmas money. Your tutorial looks like just the thing; do you mind if I follow your instructions to make leggings to sell?

    • Melissa says:

      The terms of use clearly state that the pattern and tutorial is free for personal use. If you would like to purchase a commercial license to use the pattern and instructions, email me please.

  25. Candis says:

    How do I make these for 0-3 months or 3-6 etc etc? Love it!

  26. Jaime says:

    Why does the pattern have two different legs? The instructions don’t reference this and in fact make the legs look identical. The instructions also don’t reference the point of the triangle bits along the waist. I’m lost.

  27. Malarie says:

    Thank you so much for sharing this pattern!

  28. Hilde says:

    Thanks for this pattern and the instructions! Does the pattern include seam allowances? If so, how wide are they? I can’t seam to find this in the instructions. Thanks again.

  29. Kleopatra says:

    Thanks very much for the instructions!!
    How do I make for 16 months??
    Your reply would be very much appreciated. Thank you again and regards from Greece.

    • Melissa says:

      For a 16 month old, the instructions will be the same, just use an existing pair of leggings that fits to draft up your pattern. Don’t forget to include seam allowances!

  30. Lindsey says:

    Thank You So much this is just what i needed for a last minute halloween costume. You are awesome and beautiful. thanks again.

  31. Gaby says:

    This is a great tutorial, thank you! I can’t wait to make a pair for my niece. In the downloadable PDF, page 2 says 1/2″ elastic, but this site and PDF page 1 say 1″ elastic. I’m guessing it should be 1″ but if you ever feel like updating the PDF then please consider correcting that 1/2″ and also stating what the seam allowance. is.

  32. Alexa says:

    About what size do you think these leggings are?

  33. […] Hooded top made in follow me moonlight knit and buck forest mist. The pattern to make this top is Simplicity 1473 found here and the leggings are made in buck forest mist and you can find the free pattern on Melissa Esplin’s blog here […]

  34. […] cuffs on the bottom so that they would fit a bit more snug. I basically used this pattern for the cuffs only, and the first pattern for the actual pants. The second pair took much less time, and although I […]

  35. Kristie says:

    Thank you for this pattern. I am going to make some for my niece for christmas!

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