Have You Ever Knit Leggings? These Patterns Make it Easy

I have long had a goal in my knitting life that I wanted to knit a pair of leggings. Leggings are a huge project but I reasoned it would be worth it because they would be really warm and comfortable, like immensely long socks, or a sweater for your legs.

I had the opportunity to test knit the Malone Leggings by Sheila Toy Stromberg (available on Ravelry) at the end of last year, and luckily we only had to knit to the leg split because I am still working on them (they’re down to about the knees at this point). They use sock yarn so I’m using a lot of leftovers and balls I’ve never gotten around to using, so that’s been fun.

They’re also great because they can be made with any weight yarn at any gauge. You plug in your measurements, gauge and desired ease and the pattern does the math for you so you can knit the leggings of your dreams.

If you want to knit yourself some pants, they’re a great option, but there are others. Here are a few that have caught my eye recently.

The Tan Line Joggers by Little Wolf Knits are worked from the top down and designed to have a more relaxed fit through the legs. They use light fingering weight yarn and are available in 10 sizes, ranging from a waist measurement of 25 to 58 inches.

If you’d like a stripey option (of course you can make them solid, too!) the Rainbow Stripes Leggings from the Real Knitty Kitty are super cute and a lot of fun to knit. These come in five sizes up to a 31 inch waist/41 inch hips and use a DK to medium weight yarn. You can buy the pattern on Etsy.

Boring Joggers is not the most exciting name, but if you’re looking for a good, basic pair of knit pants this is a good option. Designed by Spektakel – Mie Firring, they’re available in six sizes. You can find the pattern in English or Danish on Ravelry.

And Knittatude’s Cable Crush Joggers are a great pair of lounge pants (named Cable Crush because the coordinate with a cabled top, not because they themselves have cables). They’re available in nine sizes up to a 50 inch waist and use medium weight yarn. You can grab the pattern kit from Lion Brand Yarn.

Next Pattern:

I know knitting a dress sounds like a major time commitment. And that’s before I even tell you that this particular dress, the Sixth Ave Skater Dress by Briana Luppino, is worked in light fingering weight yarn.

But would you just take a moment to look at it and tell me if it doesn’t look like it would be worth all the time you would spend knitting it? And it’s miles of stockinette stitch so it’s actually beginner friendly and a great semi-mindless knit you can take with you on your travels this summer and wear when it is done.

The dress is worked from the top down with tank straps, a scoop neck, waist shaping and a flowy skirt for a fun and comfortable fit.

The pattern has 10 sizes, with finished bust measurements ranging from 28 to 64 inches, or 71.5 to 163 cm. The sample shown was worked with 4 inches/10 cm of negative ease at the bust, and the designer says most people like between 2 and 6 inches/5 to 15 cm of negative ease in the bust and around 10 inches/25.4 cm positive ease in the hips.

(To refresh your memory, negative ease means the measurement of the garment is smaller than your actual body measurement, while positive ease is bigger than your body.)

To pick a size you’d work from the bust measurement because you can always add more or fewer decreases as you need to get your desired fit at the waist and hips. And because it’s worked from the top down you can try it on as often as you like to make sure it’s the perfect fit.

The I-cord edgings give the dress a super casual feel, and I think this would be a great one to add to your summer rotation. (Yes, even with a wool blend yarn.)

You can see lots of cute finished versions and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself on Ravelry.

[Photo: Briana Luppino]

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