Julie Finn
Outgrown tights don’t have to be destined for the trash, especially not in the autumn, when there are chilly bare arms to cover!
These comfortable arm warmers are easily made from an old pair of wool or heavy cotton tights. You don’t need any sewing skills to upcycle tights in this way, just a sharp pair of scissors. And if you have the tights in one hand and the scissors in the other, then you can probably be holding your new pair of arm warmers in approximately one minute. Here’s how:
1. Lay out the tights. My kiddo likes to wear these arm warmers under short-sleeved T-shirts, so she likes them to reach from her armpits to her wrists. This means that I need to use as much of the tight’s legs as possible, which further means that the legs shouldn’t have any rips or stains. So when I want to make a pair of these arm warmers, I first lay out the tights and examine them closely. If the knees are ripped or there are any other parts of the legs that I can’t use, then I set them aside to save for a different project. Maybe a draft dodger?
2. Cut off the legs. Cut the legs of the tights straight across at the foot and the crotch; discard the old feet, because they’re surely dingy, but sometimes you can find a new use for the old waist and bottom of the tights. Sew it to a skirt to make a skort, perhaps? Use some of the fabric to patch a pair of leggings?
3. Try them on for size. If the legs are a little long on your kiddo’s arms, you can cut them shorter, or you can cut a little hole out of each leg for the thumb and have your kid use them as a combination of arm warmer and fingerless mitt–my own kiddo LOVES this look!
I love this idea! So great for all those tights my little girls are too big for! Thanks for posting! 🙂