Handpainted baby leggings, 3 ways

 

Have you noticed the baby leggings craze?  How could you NOT??  They're E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E.  And even though there are TONS of adorable baby girl leggings to be found, you can't deny there are some super cute boy designs out there, too! 

 

Since I've got a tiny guy of my own, I decided to board the leggings bus-- just to see.  I spied a simple grey pair at a thrift store one day and decided to jazz them up a little before I went all leggings loco.

 

Lemme show ya what I did.

 

First I gathered my supplies:

craft paint

textile medium

a sponge brush

stencil plastic (not shown)

exacto knife (not shown)

cutting mat

 

Using the stencil plastic and exacto knife I cut out a simple, imperfect chevron design.  The grid on my cutting mat was helpful in getting my lines straight and evenly spaced.

 

Next I slipped a piece of poster board into one leg so the paint wouldn't bleed through.

 Then I got to stenciling!

I made my way around the leggings and eventually my design met up in the back.  It wasn't perfect, but so what? 

I made the lines of the zig zags uneven on purpose because I knew I'd never get a perfectly printed design like you see on store-bought clothing.  So I figured if I made it look intentionally flawed then perhaps my mistakes and flubs wouldn't be so noticeable! (???)

I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out.

Don't worry- he likes the leggings, too.  He just doesn't like photo shoots right before lunchtime.  :)

"Please, Mama!  NO. MORE. PICTURES!!  I just want a flippin' CRACKER!"

 

My brother gave me the idea to make some Lego leggings (Legogings?), so I cut up an old knit skirt I had and stamped it with-- what else?-- LEGOS!

Again I used paint and fabric medium, but this time stamping on flat fabric allowed me a lot more control over how the design came out. (See one of my little Lego stamps in the corner of the photo below?)

Then I sewed them up and there you have it!  Another pair of hand painted leggings! 

 Unfortunately a little tragedy befell this adorable pair.  I forgot to heat set the paint with my iron before they got tossed in the wash, so a lot of my painstakingly stamped Legos faded.  Some quite a bit.  They're still cute and wearable, just not as vibrant as before.  *sigh

 

Here's another pair that's in the works.  Just need to add elastic for the waistband.  This time I drew on my design with a fabric marker. 

 

Sorry these photos aren't very clear.  Rowan has decided that it's hilarious to try running away from me before I can take his picture.  The turkey.

 

 

Okay, so now you can see that it is possible to make your very own adorable baby leggings using 3 different methods BUT

what if you don't sew?  What if you don't have the supplies to make these?  What if you the design you want would just be impossible to recreate yourself?  Or what if you just plain ol' don't feel like making them??

No worries.  I got ya covered.  :)

 

 

I happen to know the most affordable and A-FREAKING-DORABLE baby leggings are available at

 

THE LITTLE SPOONS on etsy.

 

Check out just a few of their items:

 

camo

 

wide blue & white stripe

grey and neon

 

ikat 

 (do you recognize this little model?  heehee!)

mustard chevron

 

 grey mustache

 

Most of the leggings I've shown you would be fantastic for boys, but I couldn't resist adding a photo of their precious floral leggings, too.  Seriously, they're my favorite.

 

There are many more designs in their shop, and new designs being listed often.  Go take a peek!  And next time you're out thrifting, keep in eye out for a plain pair of leggings that you can jazz up yourself!