It’s getting cold out here in Spokane, and it’s about time for some leg warmers. I never really used them when I lived in New Mexico, but it seems here, we may need to a pair or two for winter.
These are a pair I made my 3 y/o for her ballet class, but the pattern is quite easily adjustable to any age and size, since it’s all based on measurements.
For these leg warmers, I used maybe a quarter or less of a skein of Bernat Baby Sport yarn, a size F hook (3.75 mm), and a tapestry needle (or yarn needle if you prefer).
Here is both the written and video pattern 🙂
Abbreviations:
HDC Half Double Crochet
DC Double Crochet
FPDC Front Post Double Crochet
Ribbed bands:
You’ll be making a total of four of these: two for the ankles (one for each leg warmer), and two for your leg. Decide how high you want your leg warmers to go, and measure that part of your leg. I made these so they fit comfortably just under the knee.
Make a chain as wide as you want the ribbed band to be. I make a chain of 10 as I wanted them to be a little wide for a 3 y/o.
Row 1: Chain 1, HDC in the second chain from your hook, and in every stitch of the chain.
Row 2: Chain 1, turn your work. When you hold your work in front of you, you’ll see the top set of “v” stitches that we normally use to crochet in. Under your thumb, you’ll see a second set of “v” stitches. Crochet a HDC in the bottom loop of the “v” stitches under your thumb, you’ll crochet this type of HDC in every stitch of this row.
Row 3: Chain 1, turn your work around. HDC one in the back loop of the top “v” of each stitch of this row.
Row 4: repeat row 2
Row 5: repeat row 3
Keep alternating between rows 2 and 3 until you reach the desired length. Your ribbed band should fit comfortably around your ankle or leg, depending on which edge you’re starting with.
Once you reach your desired length, take your band and fold it in half so you have your two short edges together. Line up the edges and make sure your work isn’t twisted and crochet them together. Insert your crochet hook through both sides of the band, so you’ll have the four loops of the edges, plus your working loop (so 5 loops) on your hook. Slip stitch through all the loops. Move onto the next stitch and do the same. the goal is to “sew” the edges together. Alternatively, you can sew them together using your needle instead of your crochet hook if you wish.
Make your remaining ribbed bands, sew them together and now let’s make the body of the leg warmer.
Leg Warmer, Body
Make a chain as long as you want your leg warmer to be. So I measured from my kid’s ankle to just below her knee and made a chain that long.
Row 1: Chain 2, DC in the third stitch from your hook and in every stitch of your chain.
Row 2: Chain 2, turn your work around. Make a FPDC in the first post of the row. DC one in each of the next two stitches. FPDC in the next post. DC in the next two stitches.
Continue working a FPDC after your two DC for the remainder of the row.
Row 3: Chain 2, turn the work around. DC in the first stitch (it was the FPDC of our previous row). FPDC in each of the next two stitches (these were our DC from the previous row). DC in the next stitch, then FPDC in the next two. Continue this pattern for the entire row.
Continue alternating rows 2 and 3 until you reach your desired length. You should crochet enough of the body of this pattern so that you can comfortably wrap your leg in it. Make two of these (one for each leg warmer).
Assembling the leg warmers
Sew the body of a leg warmer by folding it in half the long way, so that you can wrap it around your leg. I folded mine so that it was inside-out to hide the stitching. Now, you can either sew it together with your needle, or you can crochet it together by joining the edges with a SC. To crochet them together, just line up your edges, insert the hook through both stitches (one of each side) so that you have 5 loops on your hook, then SC through all 5 stitches.
Once you’ve stitched both of your leg warmers together, it’s time to attach the ribbed bands to them. Make sure you grab one ankle band, and one leg band for each leg warmer.
To attach them, make sure the waffle stitch part of the leg warmer is inside out. Then, take the leg band (right-side out), and slip it inside the waffle stitch part. Line up your edges and sew/SC together. Do the same for the ankle band. Now you can flip your leg-warmer right side out, and check your work.
Once you finish sewing up your second leg warmer, weave in your yarn ends and you’re done!
If I made a mess of the written pattern, and/or you prefer the video version, please see the video below:
