March 02, 2013

Five Minute Leggings & Turban Headband


When Small Fry posted about these adorable 5 Minute Leggings I had a *facepalm* moment. How come I didn't think of that?! I made mine just a little bit different (these will not be perfect since there is no pattern to use) so I know they will have the stretch they need for a moving baby. Here's what you need!

  • A pair of leggings that fit
  • Scissors
  • A washable marker
  • Straight pins
  • Sewing machine
  • A cheap body contouring skirt
Start by turning your skirt inside-out. Lay it flat on the floor. Fold your leggings in half at the waist. Line them up with the edge of the skirt and the top of the skirt. The skirt is made to fit the curve of a woman's hips, so do the best you can to line the leggings up straight.

Sorry for the blurry picture!

Trace about 1/4"-1/2" around the leggings (the side facing away from the edge only). Cut along the line you drew.


It should look this this.


Flip the fabric you just cut over and line it up with the other side. Make a cut the same size.


You should have two pieces that look like this.


Open both pieces and place them, right (patterned) sides facing, on top of each other.


Straight pin the edges together, like pictured.


Sew together and trim excess fabric. Open fabric so that the seam you just sewed is in the middle. Start straight pinning the open edges together.


As you're sewing just continue from one ankle to the other.


When you're done you should have something like this. Before trimming the extra fabric, make sure they fit you kiddo. Trust me, you want to check! If they don't fit right you're going to need a seam ripper to take out the thread you just sewed.


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With the extra fabric I decided to make a headband. I love the way turban headbands look and they're surprisingly easy to make! Here's the how-to.


You need:
  • Fabric scraps
  • scissors
  • 1/2" elastic
  • Straight pins
  • A headband that fits
  • A washable marker
First, determine the headband size you need. This chart helps! You could also measure the headband that fits your child, which is what I did. This headband is 16 inches. I wanted the knot in the turban to be off to the side, like the bow on this headband. I measured the distance between 1 and 2 (4") then doubled it and added 1/2". Then I measured the distance between 1 and 3 (8") then doubled it and added 1/2". If you wanted the knot in the middle you would use two 6" (12 1/2" doubled) pieces for a 16" headband. I needed about 5" of elastic.


Lay out you scrap fabric to see where you should make your cuts from. Mine has a zipper, so I can't use that part. I also don't like to use the hems for this because they add extra bulk. You see what I was left with. I used piece number 2 for the shorter side of the headband and the elastic, I used piece number 1 for the longer side of the headband. If you don't have a piece of fabric long enough, don't worry about it! Just cut your elastic a little longer.


To give you an idea, this is what my first piece of scrap fabric looked like while I cut it.


These will be sewn into tubes. I wanted each tube to be about an inch wide so I cut my strips about 2 inches wide. Always remember to include a 1/4" seam allowance! After pinning and sewing, I trimmed off the excess fabric and turned the tubes right-side-out.

(left to right) Fabric strips, folded and pinned, sewn and turned

Lay your tubes in a cross shape and fold one end over to meet the other, do this with both pieces. I used the same technique for the tube the elastic goes in.


It should look like this.

Thread the elastic through the tube you made for it. After doing this, take one of your headband tubes and line both edges up with one of the edges of the elastic. Wrap headband fabric around the elastic (if there is enough) and sew together.



Loop the other headband tube through and repeat with the other side of the elastic. Trim off any excess fabric/elastic.


Ta-da!! A cute new pair of leggings that you didn't have to hem or put elastic in and a matching headband! :) I know it was a lot of steps, but I promise you its actually a really quick process! And genius to turn a skirt into leggings. You could also do something similar with a pair of adult leggings. I'll have to try that one some time!


Now go make a pair of leggings and feel free to 'Pin' this! *wink wink*

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