Sundae Warmers Knitting Pattern

I love legwarmers. Not because “Aaah!! 80s FITNESS”, but because they allow me to wear cute short skirts in winter without feeling the bite of the cold on my legs as much. They also top ugly shoes and boots you no longer care for very well, and, well, so many people are afraid of them, you can’t be anything but unique in a pair of legwarmers!

I’ve spent hours browsing Ravelry for that “perfect pair”. But, I didn’t find them, so this is the first pattern I’ve “designed” from scratch:

Download the Sundae Warmers knitting pattern [pdf] »

View the Ravelry pattern page »

Materials needed:

• 16″ US 7 (4.5mm) circular knitting needle
• 16″ US 11 (8.0mm) circular knitting needle
• 186+ yards* of Super Bulky weight yarn of your choice (I used Berroco Sundae).

* Depending on desired sizing, you may need more. I had 186 yards to work with, and they ended up with dimensions 15” circumference by 12.6″ long.

Pattern:

This pattern is based on 15” circumference legwarmers. For a size that will fit you, measure the widest part of your calf, or wherever you want the legwarmers to sit at.

Knit up a gauge swatch with the 8.0mm needle, record number of sts / inch. I had about 3.2 sts / in, and I needed 15″ worth of stitches, so 3.2 * 15 = 48 (or, [x]) stitches.

Whatever size you decide to knit, round the final number of stitches required to achieve your circumference, either up or down, to the closest number divisible by 6.
(Ex: 4.8 * 18 = 86.4. Closest number divisible by 6 = 84, therefore: cast on 84 stitches).

Cast-on [x] stitches using a 16” 4.5mm circular needle.

*K4, P2, repeat from *

Do this for 6 rows.

On row 7, knit the pattern above onto a 16”

Sundae Warmers in Purple Berroco Sundae

8.0mm circular needle.

*K4, P2, repeat from *

Do this for 36 rows (or more – this is where you can expand the length as much as you want).

On the next row, knit the same pattern back onto the 16” 4.5 mm needle.

Knit the same pattern for 5 more rows after that (total of 6 rows on this smaller needle).

Bind off.

Repeat for 2nd legwarmer.

Notes:

This wasn’t my first choice of yarn, however I was at a show, and the other yarn I was looking at was quite a bit more expensive, and I would have needed 5-6 skeins of it to complete the legwarmers I was going for. The shopkeep convinced me I should get this yearn instead, and I’d only need 3 skeins of it to complete legwarmers. I suppose we had different ideas of what legwarmers look like, however, as I had wanted long ones, that would bunch up nicely. In the end, I only had enough yarn to make relatively short legwarmers, compared to the ones I’d had in mind. However, I enjoy how chunky the yarn is, resulting in a quick knit, and how super warm they’ll be topping my unlined leather Fluevog boots this winter. For a first attempt, I’ll give it an 8/10.

If you have any questions, you can comment here.