Lets Get Physical! A Legwarmer DIY

I've shown you how to re-fashion mittens and an iPad sleeve out of sweaters but what to do with those leftover sleeves?  After some thought and a couple days of cold feet, I came up with these legwarmers.  I really loved the cozy pattern of the sweater I used to make the mittens, so cutting up the matching sleeves seemed like the right thing to do.

For this project you will need:
- A wool sweater to cut up
- Ruler
- Fabric scissors
- Pins
- Sewing Machine

1) If you are using a previously felted sweater, skip this step and proceed to Step 2.  If not, wash your wool sweater in hot water and then dry it on hot.  This will "felt" your wool, i.e. set the stitches.  Your sweater will shrink some so make sure you buy a big enough sweater to allow potential shrinking.

2) Turn your sweater inside out and lay it on a flat surface.

3) Starting at the cuff, use the inside seam (right seam in the picture above) as a guide to determine the length of your leg warmer. It's your preference but I went all the way up to where the inside seam begins to bend towards the armpit (see where the ruler's third block is in the photo.)  Once you have determined your length, lay your ruler across the sleeve and pin your line so you know where to cut.

4) Cut across the sleeve.  This will be the bottom of your legwarmer.  You can hem the bottom of the legwarmer if you want a finished seam but I was lazy for my own pair and just folded them over.

5) Place the ruler between the cuff and bottom seam and pin along the ruler to make your legwarmer's vertical seam.

6) Cut along the pinned line and then sew along the line. You may need to go over the seam several times or use the zig-zag setting on your sewing machine if your sweater is especially thick.

7) Turn inside out, and you're done with one legwarmer.

8) Repeat steps 2-7 for the second sleeve, then rock out to some Olivia Newton John or whatever 80's song suits your fancy!

These legwarmers are so cozy and warm (duh) and are fun to wear with jeans and boots.  I am planning to make a pair with another patterned sweater I have and put them in my Etsy shop later this week.  Have you done any crafting this week?