Zimmermania

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Baby Leggings Feet and Knees questions

I'm working on the February Baby Leggings, and I'm wondering if the feet will be safe for a walking toddler. Have any of you put on non-slip soles? (I've tried them in the long-distant past and didn't like them, but maybe they've improved.) Maybe it'd be best just to stop with ribbed ankles.

Also, does a crawling baby wear out the knees? Should they be reinforced somehow?

I'm making this for our granddaughter born a month ago. I figure she won't be walking this winter, but she will be crawling. And maybe these won't even fit until a year from now.

It's fun knitting them and seeing them take shape. I sure appreciate the comments and pictures from those who have already made them.

Labels:

posted by ejmh at 10:00 AM

7 Comments:

  • Hi there. I have not made this particular pattern but I have a toddler and have knit plenty of longies for her. She was crawling last winter and wore holes in the knees of several pair so I would definitely enforce them somehow (I knit patches on after the fact but it's probably easier to do it from the start). As for the feet, I would think that if they had rugs you'd be okay but if they have hardwood or other slippery floors it would be a problem. But maybe if the yarn was thin enough to wear Robeez or a similar slipper/shoe over it would be okay. That is actually one of the reasons I haven't knit that pattern yet, though it is adorable!

    By Blogger Laura, at 11:41 AM  

  • hi,

    i knit a couple of these when 3yo dd was less than a year. some still fit because i put extra long ribbing at the ankles. the ones out of alpaca were the softest but wore out fastest.

    my experience was to make them w/out feet is better; you'll get more wear out of these, as those little ones grow so fast. i ended up cutting off the feet on one pair i made.

    ymmv. good luck w/your g-baby :-)

    By Blogger the nifty needler, at 12:16 PM  

  • About the feet. Our grands just love footies, so I vote for them. How bout if you did a finished leg and then picked up stitches and added the feet. That way they can be removed or replaced as needed without messing up the leggings.
    For the knees I would figure out the location of them and add patches using the same yarn.

    By Blogger Unknown, at 5:33 PM  

  • I knit these pants for my son and simply ended with ribbing at the ankles. My children almost always grew out the length before the waist was too small (in fact, we usually ended up cutting the feet out of our Carter's sleepers) so the non-feet worked best for me. I really like the idea of knitting "flip back" feet - kind of like the flip-back mittens that sportsmen wear.

    Either way, I loved these leggings and plan to knit them for other babies.

    By Blogger Ellen, at 8:11 PM  

  • Hi, I made a pair of these in Cascade Fixation (the lurid purple/teal colourway) for my DS when he was up to 4 or 5 months (I think, it was around 6 years ago).

    I stopped at the ankles with an inch or 2 of ribbing, as I was also worrid about Him slipping.

    If you're worried about the knees, either knit the yarn doubled through this section (2 or 3 inches), or be prepared to snip and reknit the offending section, grafting at the end.

    You could also use the woolly nylon that is sold in overlocking shops, and knit it along with the yarn on the "at risk" sections. If it stops sock heels from wearing out, a baby's knees shouls be no problem.



    Good luck!

    By Blogger Moorecat, at 5:35 AM  

  • I think knee patches would be a great idea and if you can find puffy paint (I heard they didn't make it anymore) you can put dots on the soles of your socks.
    Good Luck!

    By Blogger wendy, at 11:41 AM  

  • Thanks, everyone! Now I feel more confident as I plunge ahead on the project. Right now I think I'll try reinforcing the knees with the stuff made for sock heels and toes, and I'll knit the feet so they could be detached later. (I do love the idea of how the feet will look.) I'll try to find the sticky blobs to put on the soles, too.

    By Blogger ejmh, at 3:56 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home