Socks from an old sweater

I finally had a chance to flip through one of the books Dave gave me for Christmas, Sweater Surgery, and got a little inspiration for what to do with the leftover sleeves from the baby sweater I cut up awhile ago....make them into socks, of course.

This ended up being a multi-purpose solution, as I haven't gotten around to knitting up a warm wool pair for the baby yet, and I've been trying to streamline/un-clutter) my sewing area.

So without further rambling from me, here is a tutorial on how to re-purpose baby sweater sleeves. (This is my first attempt at a tutorial, so please let me know if I missed anything.)

Step 1:

Cut off sleeves of felted (aka shrunken) baby sweater. The length of the sleeves need to be at least longer than the length of your baby's foot, but if there is extra it doesn't matter as you will cut it off later. Turn sleeves inside out. (The sleeves may have to be ironed flat before moving on to step two.)

Step 2:

Using one of baby's current socks and a fabric marking pen, trace a line on the inside out sleeve near the cut end. The ribbed end of the sleeve will be the top of the sock.

click on this picture to see the toe line better

Step 3:

With sewing machine or by hand, sew along the line you drew to make the toe of the sock.


I sewed (a rather crooked) zig zag stitch over my first line of stitching for re-inforcement, but you don't have too.

Step 4:

Cut off the excess material around the toe of the sock about a 1/4" from the stiched seam, and turn the socks right side out.



Step 5:

To make it a little bit harder for Scarlette to pull the socks off, I threaded some ribbon around the tops of the socks so I could tie the socks on. The picture shows a 1/4" ribbon, but I found I needed to go up to at least a 1/2" ribbon.

Cut two 18" to 20" lengths of ribbon, and thread one through an embroidery needle, or any needle with a large eye. Sew in and out around the top of the socks (parallel to the ribbing) an even number of times so that the two ends of the ribbon come out next to each other. (I spaced each stitch about 3/4" wide.) You can either place the ends so the bow ties at the front of the socks, or the outer sides of the socks.


Step 6:

Wrestle your small one to the ground, put the socks on as fast as possible, tie the bow, and take a picture before they tear the socks off and start yelling.


Note: I thought of this after I finished the socks, but if you wanted to make these into house slippers, just cut a piece of suede the shape of the foot and sew onto the bottom.