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Behold my “Lady Longies” :-) … or maybe you prefer “leg sweater”? This is a great knit project, MUCH easier than one might think!

I’ve really enjoyed the process of knitting this and I am not a “process” knitter. I will definitely be knitting more of these! If you choose to knit this, please do not hesitate to ask if there is anything I might be able to help you with… although I doubt you’ll find you’ll need it. :-)

Guesstimate yardage based on other Ravelry Projects before I made mine: Fingering = 1800yds; DK = 1500yds; Worsted = 1100yds?

~note~ took between 1225-1230yds of DK weight for these; the best of 10 skeins of Knit Picks Merino Style, which is actually more of a “heavy DK almost-worsted” weight in many people’s opinion.

Jun 17, 2011:
I have set up an Evernote note that combines instruction notes from both books, (“Knitter’s Almanac” & “Opinionated Knitter”) as well as incorporated tips I’ve gleaned from other Ravelers who have made it before me. I’m hoping that’ll improve my success with my first knit of this design.

My gauge in DK weight on 4.5mm needles…
Stockinette: 6 st/in
2x2 Ribbing: 8 st/in

Depending on lighting, my photos somewhat-accurately represent the color… or are no where near the same color. Storm is a medium-dark blue with green undertones… much more of a dark teal blue than the pretty cobalt blue of some of the photos. The green seems to be washed out of the photos. The photos showing the yarn as darker are far more accurate, if you are interested in the color.

As for the Merino Style yarn itself, this is one of my all time favorite yarns. Once it has been laundered, it “blooms” a little and is butter soft and smooshy, has good stitch definition, and is a delight to wear and work with. Requires handwashing to prevent felting, and it is 100% Merino so there will be quite a bit of pilling at first. My yarn shaver will remedy that until all the loose fibers have worked themselves free. My first project in MS is a scarf that I’ve worn, a lot, since Nov 2006 and it still looks great. (note: as of winter 2011 Merino Style is on the “discontinued” list. Hopefully Knit Picks will replace it with a comparable dk weight 100% merino yarn at a reasonable price. sad sad sad)

Jun 18, 2011:
Swatched with some other KP Merino Style yarn I had (Fog) to decide which size needles I wanted to use and determine what my st/in (spi) would be so I could do the math while waiting for the yarn I ordered.

I’m fairly certain I won’t have enough yarn in the one colorway. I’ve got ten skeins coming, and I may have as many as 4 other skeins in the same color, which may be sufficient. If not, I plan to finish the top in left over Merino Style in another color since it is basically long underwear. Other than my project pix, no one will be seeing the top when it’s completed. :-)

I tend to like a looser fabric, but since this will be coming over my knees, I’ll not be able to stand it if the fabric doesn’t have sufficient give around my “bad” knee. (Two reconstructive surgeries; good now but still sensitive if there is “too much” pressure.) On the other hand, I realize the nature of this design is that there’ll be sagging & stretching with wear so I can’t go with a fabric as loose as I’d like. I plan to put ribbing behind the knees too. The fabric with 4mm needles was too tight for my tastes. However, after these are done and I’ve worn them a bit, might change my mind about that.

I’ve added additional ribbing & stockinette to my swatch with both 5mm & 4.5mm. I prefer the fabric with the 5mm best, but I’m concerned about sagging, so I’m going with the 4.5mm for this first pair.

I was in my mid-20s around 1980 when stirrup pants came on the scene and were all the rage. So. Of course. I got some. Drove. Me. Nuts. So, these will not be stirrup leggings. I plan to begin the legs with ribbing at the ankles.

I’ll do all the math while I wait for my yarn to arrive. It should be here late next week, but I’m not certain how soon I’ll be able to actually begin the project.

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Aug 21: Working two legs at once, on two separate circulars.

Cast on 40 sts using 4mm needles for the ribbing; I cast on using the Crochet Bind-Off Cast On (Crochet Cast On) with a 3.5mm hook.

I want my ankles snug and warm so I did 4” of 2x2 ribbing. Worked 5” stockinette on 4.5mm circulars to begin calf increases

~note~ in my next Nether Garment, I’ll use 4.5mm for the ankle ribbing too. It is just a bit more snug than really necessary, now that the garment is finished. Still comfortable, but wasn’t necessary to make the ankle ribbing tighter.

Aug 22:
Completed the 5” of stockinette up to the calf increases; placed stitch markers for calf increases. Worked about half the calf increases for one leg.

I marked the “center back” stitch with a small coil-less safety pin. I’m working on an even number of stitches. So I laid both legs side by side, so the beginning of the leg (with the cast on tail) are together in the middle, then chose one stitch over, closest to the “inseam.” The start of rounds is always a little “off” so I like them to be to the inside of my arm or leg.

I had knit both legs to the point to mark the center-back so I marked the “center back” on both legs, which ensured both legs would be even. I then knit the first round, made one increase, placed my stitch marker, knit my three center stitches, placed my second stitch marker, made the second increase, and finished the round. (see photos showing two coil-less safety pins and two stitch markers) My leg is sufficiently long to make my increase rounds every third round.

I left my first coil-less safety pin in place in case I needed to count stitches for rounds. When I had three knit stitches immediately above that first safety pin, I placed a second coil-less safety pin into the center-back stitch three rounds above to indicate I would increase again at the next round. This coil-less safety pin I moved every third round. So, basically, I marked my stitches both horizontally (stitch markers) and vertically (coil-less safety pins).

This process works really well for me when doing repeating increases “on top of each other” like this.

Aug 23:
Hoped to finish the calf section on both legs, but life interfered with that goal. Got a few rounds in, though. Probably won’t be able to work on it much tomorrow because I’ve fallen behind on a couple other projects. I’ll get in a few rounds if I can, but not expecting too much progress.

Aug 25:
Finished calf increases on one leg and will start calf increases on leg two this evening. I’m gonna get someone to take a photo of the leg with calf increases completed and hope to post all the photos I’ve taken so far of this project.

I’m going to finish the calf increases using EZ’s matching M1 increases, but for future longies I’ll just use the M1 increase I normally use on both sides: lift the running thread between two stitches with left hand needle, knit into back loop to twist stitch = no/very little hole. (They won’t “match” but anyone close enough to tell will also be close enough to kiss my hiney if they don’t like it.) :-) Or use the M1r & M1l rather than EZ’s looped M1.

It isn’t that EZ’s is difficult, it’s just that weird neurological thing I have that requires me to look at the graphic each and every time to make the loop the right way… and I still screw it up somehow. The key is just to make sure the stitch will be twisted on each side to prevent a hole, but for some reason, I just can’t seem to see if I’m twisting the stitch or not using EZ’s increase. I’ve got some holes that I’ll have to stitch up with some sewing thread on the inside to be happy with them. They probably aren’t bad, but I’m not happy with them.

I really must say, I am loving this project so far. It is great “tv/movie watching” and “passenger in the car” knitting. I’ve worked a good portion so far walking, sitting in the car, sitting in the chiropractor’s waiting & therapy room, and waiting for my meal to arrive in restaurants. Once you’ve set your stitch markers for the increases, you just knit & increase until you’ve got your target number of stitches from the increases.

I would also like to highlight how essential it is try on as you work… frequently. You cannot go by your tape measure length, for instance. It might measure flat a given length, but that will change when it conforms to your leg and will be shorter on your leg than you thought it “should” be.

I tried on when I’d completed the ribbing to ensure I had as much ribbing as I wanted. I tried on again a couple of times to make sure I was knitting to the place where my calf just begins to “flare,” no more, no less. I tried on again each time I’d added 10 more stitches for the calf until I’d added the full number of increases.

If I just held the work against my leg it doesn’t “fit” the same way at all. You really have to try on as you go to avoid surprises and get the custom fit you want. You’ll be able to accurately tell where and when you need to make adjustments only if you actually have it on your leg. You can make it more generically if you are making these for someone who isn’t around to measure and fit, but if you want a custom fit, you have to try on regularly.

Also, take careful notes as you go… in case you want to make these again, even if you’ll be making them for someone else… and especially if you are knitting one leg completely and then starting the second leg.

~note~ 1 skein of Knit Picks Merino Style (appx 120 yds DK) got me to my last increase round for the calf. Spit splice works great to join yarn if you are using an animal fiber that will felt, or that has enough animal fiber to felt (60%+?), such as wool, alpaca, cashmere, etc. If the blend is less than 60% animal fiber, or is superwash, consider using a Russian Join instead.

Aug 27:
Decided to take my own counsel. “They won’t “match” but anyone close enough to tell will also be close enough to kiss my hiney if they don’t like it.” I was going to work EZ’s M1 increases on the second calf too simply because I’d done them that way on the first one. I decided I simply did not like to do my M1 increases that way, had given it a fair chance to “take” with the first set of calf increases, and I could go faster if I just did the M1 increases the way I prefer. (1st demo) I got a lot more done today with no holes and I enjoyed the knitting a lot more. I tried something new, didn’t care for it, so it was a valuable experience.

Aug 29:
I like my M1 better. It went a lot faster and looks a lot neater… for me. (ymmv.)

Working on the knees now. Have added 2x2 ribbing in the center back third, beginning and ending with p2. (Will try 1x1 ribbing in next pair to see which I like best.) Lots of people have commented on the back of the knee being “saggy” so I’m hoping this will address that without being constricting. I’m hoping I’ll have time today to complete the knees and at least be able to set up for my thigh increases.

Alternatively, work the knee area with more negative ease so there isn’t as much fabric that can sag. :-) After I see how these fit, I’ll feel more comfortable considering that in a subsequent pair.

Aug 30:
LOVE the fit behind the knees with the ribbing! Not too snug but gently hugs the back of the knee.

Aug 31:
Finished… finally… the knee of one leg. (Not sure why it took me so long…) My legs are somewhat on the long side and I found 5.5” just a bit too short for my liking, so I knit the knee section to 6” with 2x2 ribbing up the entire center-back third. The ribbing causes the back of the knee to snug up the otherwise saggy back and gives a really wonderful fit to the back of the leg without causing any constriction whatsoever. I highly recommend it for your consideration if you don’t care for sags at the back of your knee.

~note~ If someone had “fluffy knees” they might consider doing a row or two of short rows, or possibly a couple extra increases, on the front of the knee, in the lower section, to provide just a bit extra ease. In that case, a 1x3 (p1, k3) rib might work better? Not sure, but something to consider. If you try it, would you post a comment and let me know how it worked for you?

I’ll mark off for the inseam increases on this leg, then turn to the knees on the second leg. Hopefully they will go a little more quickly.

Sep 2:
Haven’t been able to knit as much as I’d like the last several days, but have completed both knees and am well on my way with the first thigh. The knees took a lot longer than I expected for some reason. I generally knit ribbing pretty much the same speed as stockinette so I’m suspicious that I’ve simply been distracted.

The thigh seems to be humming right along. If I’ve got time to knit tomorrow and Monday, I expect to have both thighs completed… maybe even connect them and start on the hips.

~note~ for my next pair, I’m going to reduce the ease a little. Rather than go up to 136 sts (my actual measurement) as I did on this pair, I’m only going to go to 128 sts (negative ease). I did the math with & without negative ease so I’d have both numbers. For the lower leg, the fit was perfect, but I’m finding that the thigh is a little more loose than I’d prefer. I think I’ll use the same # of hip stitches, though, so will have to do some additional increases at the very top part of the thigh. I have a good fit on the thighs with the 136 sts, but I think they’ll be more comfortable just a smidge more snug. ymmv

Nothing special to share about the thighs. Using the same M1 increase I defaulted to with the calf for the inseam increases, then just lots of stockinette.

Plan to knit until I complete the balance of the current skein on this first leg then get photos wearing both legs before continuing on.

It will take all of two skeins to complete each leg and I expect I’ll need to attach another skein before joining for the hip. That brings me to no less than 492 yds of DK weight yarn for the legs. (four full skeins of Merino Style; looks like it may take less yarn than I thought I’d need)

Sep 8:
So it takes about 500 yds of DK weight yarn to get about halfway up my thighs. There will be no new photos from here until I’ve gone far enough to cover my tushie. :-)

I’m in a total knitting groove with this project at this point… great mobile and tv-watching knitting. Once you complete your ankle knitting, you just knit until it’s time to start the calf increases. You develop a rhythm doing that until it is time to change to the knee area. Adding the ribbing on the back of the knee made that a little more interesting than just knitting another 6”. Then, once you’ve set up for your thigh increases, you develop a new rhythm for that… you don’t need any notes to continue working if you’ve placed stitch markers as reminders for increase placement. You just need to remember what your target number of stitches is for that set of increases until you change to the next part of the pattern.

I am really enjoying this knit!

Sep 13:
Finished leg one, moved on to completing thigh two.

Was a little unclear about precisely where to make the optional increases for the crotch at the top of the thigh.

I’ve opted for what seems to be the most logical position: right and left of the center stitch for the thigh increases. I counted off 6 stitches behind the center stitch (the back of the leg with the calf increases), then counted 6 stitches to the front of the leg, including the center stitch for the thigh increases: k2, M1 - end with k2 for a total of 5 increases across 12 stitches.

Sep 26:
Been a little waylaid by a cold, etc, but still making progress. Also lost a day attending the Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival in Canby, OR. :-)

Completed both legs, joined them, worked the ten plain rounds and have four more sets of waist decreases before beginning the back waist section… so not too much farther to go.

I haven’t tried them on since joining the legs because I’m a little concerned about stretching out the stitches above and below the stitches on the holders. I hate when I get holes working that sort of thing. I’ve safety-pinned the crotch closed to try to minimize stretching the stitches on either end as much as possible just from joining the legs, but I should have done that before actually beginning the first round of stitches after the join. I’m thinking I’ll baste the crotch together loosely with crochet thread in my next set and then begin the joining round.

I plan to graft the crotch together before I try them on for the next phase of fitting. I’ll complete my decreases to my target number of stitches, graft the crotch and then try it on again before proceeding farther.

I’m working on a 60” cable since joining the legs. I chose that because it is sufficiently large for me to be able to try them on without changing cables or putting stitches on waste yarn. :-) I thought the cable might be a bit long for Magic Loop, but as it turns out, I’d have been constantly losing my “loop” if it had been any shorter. I frequently only have about a 3” loop on the opposite side when it is time to pull the cable free for the second half of a round.

~note~ next pair, I won’t try to maintain the loop… it isn’t necessary and I can knit more quickly if I work it in-the-round rather than as a Magic Loop project at this point. ::silly goose::

If one didn’t have a 60” cable, I’d suggest working the top part on two 40” circulars… one for the right leg, one for the left leg, to avoid transferring stitches to try on at this point in the construction.

Oct 8:
Back to working on this again. Have started the ribbing at the waist.

When I did the short rows at the back, I did wrap-n-turns but I’m decidedly not pleased with the way it worked out for me. I did a wrap and turn so that there is one regular knit stitch between each wrap. I’m wondering if that is correct. It seems to fit as described, but I’m wondering if I should have left two knit stitches between each wrap? I didn’t do the full number of wraps because so many people have complained that they felt the back was way too tall. I am tall, but my height comes from my legs. I’m at or just shy of the “correct” back-waist-length relative to my other measurements, and when I tried it on, it seemed sufficiently high for me before working the ribbing top.

I’m thinking that if I’d left two knit stitches between each wrap that I’d have been okay doing the full number of wraps. I’ll try this on my next pair. (If anyone reading this has any comments/suggestions, I’d be grateful to listen.)

~note~ it fits and wears just fine done the way I did it, so I’m not entirely certain how much it matters. But I will try it the second way on my next longies as an experiment for whether it makes any noticeable difference in comfort.

I’m mostly not pleased with several of the wraps because I ended up with a few holes I’ll have to stitch up… most aren’t bad at all, but a couple are just too big for my liking. If I’d paid closer attention when working them, (and hadn’t worked them while feeling crummy), they would have been fine. But tinking back wraps is not a good idea, for me. :-\ I think I unwrapped some of them and didn’t realize it… hence my holes. But this is all up around the hips, so I’m the only one that will see it and I can fix it in such a way I’ll be okay with it. These are utilitarian wear, not fashion, right?

I’m at the ribbing, which means, I’m on the home stretch. These have taken much longer than they should have… even for me, a not-fast-knitter. I may be able to finish them with only 9 skeins of DK Merino Style, but I’m fairly certain I’ll have to start on the 10th skein to finish it.

I am still enjoying the knit but I’m getting impatient to start the Sweater Workshop Sweater KAL & the Shawl KAL/CAL in the Knit Picks Lovers group. Hopefully I can stay on task sufficiently to finish this this weekend…

Oct 11:
Finished all the knitting!!! YAY! Took longer than was really necessary simply because I was distracted by other things a lot of this past month, not because the knitting was difficult. My life has gotten unexpectedly complicated, especially the last couple of weeks and there is good reason to expect this will be getting worse, not better, for the foreseeable future. :-\

I worked 3.5” of ribbing before the eyelets. I probably could have done the full number of short rows, but I’m pleased with the fit and think I like more ribbing than having the back waist any higher than it would have been with the extra short rows.

Before you begin the eyelets for the elastic, I’d recommend putting them on and sitting in them to make certain you have the height on the back waist you’ll want. If you want a lower or higher waist, it’ll be easier to add/subtract rows before your eyelets.

Remember that you’ll get some natural stretching of the fabric through the hips & waist when wearing, so tug on them a little to make certain you also are not making them too tall.

I worked 5 rounds of ribbing above the eyelet round… 3 just didn’t seem to be enough to me. Three would probably have been just fine, but I’m glad I did 5.

Will weave in the elastic tomorrow as I’m feeling too crummy and don’t want to screw that up.

Oct 12
I was concerned about the elastic being too tight. Some elastic will shrink over time, but I will be handwashing these, so I probably don’t need to worry about it too much cuz it is machine-drying that shrinks it the most. So I measured it out, weaved it into the eyelets (DO make sure you’ve worked multiples of 8 eyelets). Cut the elastic, overlapped 1” and stitched it together.

Then I put them on, pulled my walking pants over them, and took my pups for a walk. I figured that would be a good test for whether I got the elastic too loose. It was, and I did. Trimmed the elastic down as seemed appropriate, overlapped 1” and stitched it together again.

~note~ get No-Roll Waistband Elastic, (there is a “Ban-Rol” brand but a name brand isn’t necessarily necessary), 1” wide… 3/4” wide if you can find it anywhere… not a wimpy-stretch “regular” braided elastic. I couldn’t find any 3/4” wide non-roll black waistband elastic locally, so I settled for the regular “braided” elastic. I will be replacing that with a 1” wide No-Roll Waistband Elastic when I pull these out to wear this (2012) fall. I will not spend this year tugging at the top of these because the elastic is too wimpy!

I LOVE these things! Will definitely make more of them. They are snuggly warm, incredibly comfortable, I couldn’t have gotten the fit better, and they were a fun knit overall. I got a little bored knitting through the thighs, but once the two legs were joined it got fun again, just knowing I was in the home stretch as much as anything else. If I didn’t already have plans to start a sweater & a Pi Shawl, I think I’d start another pair right away.

Took almost all of the 10 skeins I’d gotten to make them… not enough left to do much of anything else so I’d plan on about 1225-1230 yds to make another pair in DK weight yarn. Here’s my measurements, to help you determine if you might need more or less yarn to make them for yourself:
Ankle: 7.5”
Knee: 14.5”
Thigh: 22.5”
Hips: 39.5”
Waist: 33”
… and I’m 5’8” tall… if that helps. :-)

Additionally, if you aren’t sure whether to get “Knitter’s Almanac” or “Opinionated Knitter” for the recipe for these, I personally prefer the directions in “Knitter’s Almanac.” If your local library has a copy of both of them on the shelf, or your local brick&mortar bookstore, I’d say to look closely at both of them before you buy either, because you may not agree.

If you live in a cool/cold-winter climate, or if you engage in winter sports, I’d strongly encourage you to try a pair of these for yourself. I wouldn’t hesitate to say these would be a great ramp-up to a sweater project. It is “easier” to make than a sweater, if you’ve not made a sweater yet, (although a sweater is more “intimidating” than it is actually “difficult,” depending on the pattern you choose). Like knitting a sweater, it goes a lot faster than you probably imagine it will.

The construction is very straightforward and “doable” for all but the most rank new knitter, imo. And I feel that making this would do a lot to boost one’s confidence to tackle a sweater, frankly.

If you decide to make them and would like any tips or help along the way, don’t hesitate. (see post #58) I really can’t imagine most knitters would have any problems successfully making these if you’ve taken good measurements, done your swatch to get your stitches per inch to plug in to do the math for each section, try them on frequently so you can see if you need to adjust the fit as you go, and simply pay attention to when to do what where. Seriously.

Dec 20:
Having worn these many times the last several weeks since I finished them, I wouldn’t be as concerned about using a little more negative ease than I did in some of my future pairs, at least in the thighs and possibly the hips, for me. I knit them pretty much to-measure because I would rather have the first pair a little more on the loose side, but fitting, than have them too tight. I’m thinking I might make my next pair with an inch of negative ease through the thighs. Otherwise, the ankles and calves fit perfectly and I’m pleased with the fit through the hips and waist and don’t think I’d make them with more than an inch of negative ease, at most, in this weight yarn.

I will, however, be replacing the “braided” elastic with a non-roll waistband elastic before I wear them again this next fall. I couldn’t find 3/4” black non-roll locally so I settled for 3/4” “regular” elastic because I was concerned that 1” wide elastic was too wide for my eyelets. I’d rather shove the elastic into the eyelets and have it “bunch up” a little than be constantly tugging at the top because this elastic is just too wussy for the job!

These are SO comfortable!!! I absolutely adore them and hope I’ll be able to make at least two more before next winter. I walk my dogs almost every day, rain or shine, and I’ve not been the least bit cool wearing these under my Old Navy polar fleece pants with my long wool coat. I had the flu last month and I wore them under my jammies while I was running a fever to keep warm even when I had to get up to get something to drink or whatever. They were so soothing.

My goal is to have at least 7 of these so I can wear a different pair every day, and cycle back through, having to wash them all maybe once a month (?) through the cooler months… so they’ll last a long time!

If you are remotely interested in making these, I really cannot recommend them to you highly enough. It is a fun knit, not overwhelming, not “too big” of a project if you aren’t in a hurry, a great “end of day” knit when you don’t have the focus or temperament to work on anything complicated… and really a little addictive if you’ve got that sort of personality. If you make them one of two or three other projects you are working on, not the only project you are working on, putting in a set amount of time to work on these when you sit down to knit… maybe 20 minutes, or so many inches, or whatever works for you… you’ll have them done in much less time than you’d ever imagine, and all the stockinette knitting won’t drive you batty. :-)

Sep 2012
I keep watching the weather report for weather sufficiently cool to break these out again!!! I will also be casting on for a second pair within the next couple of months… I hope to have them in progress by the end of November, at the latest. My goal is to complete two of them while the weather is still cool enough to enjoy this winter. My plan is for these to be my “brain dead” project to keep other projects company through the fall and winter. It will be so nice to have three pair to cycle through this year!

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