I’m celebrating babies today with a FREE Baby Leggings pattern! I’ve extended the sizes of my popular Go To Leggings pattern and I’m offering the baby sizes for free! Yay!
Making baby leggings is really easy! Don’t be scared of knit fabric.
Tips for sewing knit
These are super quick to sew. You can sew with a regular sewing machine or use a serger. I prefer to sew knit with a serger but if I didn’t have one, sewing knit on a regular sewing machine is no problem.
If you need to learn how to sew on knit fabric this is a good primer but here are my top tips:
Use fabric that has at least 50% stretch. That means when you pull it the fabric increases by 50%. You can see a photo demonstration of this here.
Use a knit needle in your machine. This will help prevent making holes in your fabric.
Do not use cotton thread. Cotton thread has no stretch. Polyester or wooly nylon are preferred.
Test different stitches (width and length) on your fabric to determine which you prefer for maximum stretch and security.
Supplies needed to sew these free baby leggings
My favorite sewing machine under $200 is the Brother CS6000i. I bought mine 7 years ago. If you’re looking for a serger I love my Babylock serger.
Gather your supplies:
- ½ yard knit fabric with at least 50% stretch
- ⅔ yard 1″ knit elastic (not NO-ROLL elastic)
- Coordinating thread (avoid 100% cotton thread, it will break easier)
These are so quick you can whip up a whole drawer full in a morning. The great thing about these is you can adjust the elastic for skinnier or chunkier babies. Custom leggings are perfect for babies because no two are the same size and length.
IMPORTANT! Don’t skip this part!
The important thing to consider when choosing your fabric is to make sure it’s stretchy enough. Some commercial knit fabric isn’t very stretchy. But babies need stretch. If you have a 10″ piece it should be able to stretch to at least 15″. That’s considered 50% stretch. More is great. You’ll want to stay away from slinky stretchy fabric, however. Those aren’t great for leggings. If you need more information about the stretch in fabric please read this post.
Alright, you’re ready to start sewing! Have fun with this pattern. If you’re going to share it I hope you’ll send people to this page to download directly from me. Thanks! Sign up below and I’ll email you the pattern right away!
UPDATE:
This free pattern is no longer available. I recommend sewing patterns from See Kate Sew.
Comments & Reviews
kara noel @small things says
Love this pattern! What a great idea for a baby shower gift! I could probably use some larger scraps too!
Sherry Wilber says
Won’t download! Will unsubscribe after reading other comments.
Suzan Dixon says
love the free pattern!
However I’m confused by the instructions. It shows that you are supposed to sew the out side seams and the inside seam.
when you do both crotch seams there’s no out side seam to sew. Am I missing something?
I cut the pattern and started out with two like pieces.
Thanks,
suzan
Tiffany says
Susan,
I was wondering the same thing. Also, the picture doesn’t show the stitching example, like the other three pictures do. I was wondering myself if I am to sew the outside seams since they are already connected as one piece.
Hope to get a reply soon!
Lindsay says
I have been trying to download this and I cannot figure out how to do it. I signed up for the news letter.
Stephanie says
I have also been having trouble downloading the pattern. I signed up for the newsletter and got a confirmation email but I still cannot view the pattern. I was hoping to make them for a gift this week 🙁
Connie says
I, too, have signed up for newsletter and cannot get this free pattern … is this still available?
Caroline says
Love this pattern, however the instuctions are confusing. Its taken me about 3 hours of stitching and unpicking because it says “with fronts right sides together” when it should be “with front and back right sides together”. Very frustrating because this should be a quick and simple project! I got there eventually! Also the part where you cut the two pieces of fabric is also a bit ambiguous, just to confirm, you need to cut two pieces of the front pattern and two pieces from the back pattern. Also where it says tape pages 1-4 together, you actually tape pages 1 and 3 together and separately tape page 2-4. Hope this makes things clearer for everyone! I love a nice clear instruction!!
Stephanie G says
Thank you!!!! I was wondering why I was coming up with 2 parts shorter than the other parts. I made some the first way and they look weird.
Alexis says
Yes!!! I was so confused. I wish I read the comments before starting lol…
diane says
Great pattern. just what I was looking for. but your pattern instructions are confusing. It says to sew front sides together and repeat for backs… well you actually sew one front and one back together twice, then the rest makes sense.
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Mary says
Andrea, PLEASE re-write your instructions. I just ruiined a pair of leggings, cause Step #1 should say, Sew a front and back side seam together, I see people have been noting you since 2016 and it still is not fixed. Thanks.
Bethany says
These instructions are terrible. I’ve gone through so much fabric thinking I’m cutting incorrectly. Proof reading before posting to share would be courteous so you don’t cost other people tons of money in fabric. I made footed newborn pants no problem, so I’m following those instructions to properly construct these leggings. If you’re not going to update your instructions, take down this post so people stop wasting their time and money.
Michelle says
I printed these and stuck all 4 pages together. I then cut out 2 pieces (mirrored). I stitched the inside leg seams, then put one piece right side out inside one piece wrong side out and stitched the crotch seams together before finishing the waist casing and the leg hems. It’s the easiest way to do it and saves on extra sewing making them that much quicker to complete. I hope this helps some of you who have been struggling through making these.
Sara Lozefski says
I’m so glad I read the comments because I thought I was going crazy reading this pattern. Made my first pair, but if I make them again I will fold my fabric and cut only one of each piece on the crotch/bum folds, front and back, to reduce sewing and cutting.
Jen Nilson says
I’ve hit “download” several times and nothing happens. Very frustrating!
Anne says
hello! I signed up for email. I am so appreciative for your free patterns, as I have a new granddaughter!!! I need to sew things for her!
However, I am unable to find where to click for the pattern to download.
I saw that another person had the same issue.
Appreciate you and your support on this!
Grammie Annie
Stephanie K Wright says
Cant seem to get this pattern. Entering my info results in nothing.
Rowan says
My pattern arrived in my welcome email
Rowan says
Has maybe been updated as I had no problem following instructions to make these baby leggings. Love them.
Nancy says
Love reading your very informative post and of course receiving free patterns.
Pam says
This is crazy, I’m going in circles trying to find and download this leggings pattern , what’s the trick ?
MaRia Wilson says
Thanks