These warm leg warmers are an easy project that don’t use up a lot of wool, are easy to make, and a great way of upcycling an old jumper
What You’ll need
- An old woollen jumper. If you don’t have one handy, you might be able to find one at your local op shop.
- Some matching wool colours to your liking. Anywhere between 200-600grams
- Your usual wet felting kit or supplies.
- Your dry felting kit or suppies.
Measuring up
Leg warmers can just be covering your ankles level or extend can the full leg length.
These leg warmers I made are around knee height, and are great to tuck into a pair of boots. I like the way the keep the ankles just that little bit warmer, and show a rustic look above the boots.
You can match or contrast the colours of your base woollen jumper.
Cut the sleeves off each jumper as shown straight across as shown in the diagram. Now try them on for size, and start to get a sense of how they might fit after you’ve added the extra wool around the top.
Laying the wool
For this technique I like to use a pool foam to give me a base for the dry felting.
This allows for a lot of control when laying out the pattern, and I am less likely to prick myself while putting it together.
Every now and then, as you build up your pattern, peel the wool off the foam tube, as some of the fibres will be attaching to it.
Using this technique you can start to build up a pattern on your leg warmers. Whether you want flowers, unicorns, initials or anything else, just start decorating the wool.
I find the wrist band is good for tucking into the upper part around the ankle.
Once you’ve finished one side, go ahead and do the next one.
This is where you can spend as little or as long as you like. Some like to make elaborate patterns, while others like to lay the wool down roughly. It isn’t necessary to go to much of a plan, but let your imagination take you where you want to o. Just remember to be careful of that rather sharp felting needle.
Start Wet Felting
For this part, I find it is often easier to just wet felt on the tube. Make sure that you don’t want to add anymore wool at this stage, as it will make it harder to deal with both dry and wet felt. Work your way around the whole pattern, starting gently and gradually making your way around the whole legging.
Once you’ve got each of your leggings felted to some degree, it can often be handy to squeeze out the excess water and try them on.
As you bring them up to your knees, you’ll start to get a feel for how they’re fitting. This can help you decide if you want to
Be creative!
Remember that these instructions are really just suggestions. You can make your legging very differently to this!
Some like to use more wool. and loud and contrasting colours, while others like to make them a little more subtle.
I’d love to see what you make, so please feel free to share what you did on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest, and make sure you tag me!