SEWN MITTENS

I tried my hand at knitting when I first started to sew. I made a bunch of scarves and even knit a sweater, but I seemed to loose interest in the whole thing after my third scarf. (and that sweater was pretty terrible) Every winter I get ‘knit-envy’ when I see photos of cozy cowls, cute mittens and slouchy hats. I would love to make those things! But, I have a feeling I should stick to all the other craft that I’ve got going on.

I was super excited when our new teacher, Mariel, suggested a Sewn Mittens class. Yes!! Finally, I can ‘fake’ some knit mittens by sewing them from upcycled sweaters.

I love this fun project for all the variation you can achieve by using upcycled goods. For my mittens I picked up a purple sweater from Value Village. Debbie offered me some of her leather scraps for the palms. The sweater had ‘elbow pad’ details on the sleeves, so I cut my main piece from that part of the sweater.

I didn’t really consider what would happen when you try to sew leather to sweater. Basically these are two materials that behave very differently! The knit sweater was super stretchy, while the leather was not. This made the sewing a bit more tricky and I did use a walking foot. I would not recommend this combination of materials to a beginner sewer or at least for your first pair. The students who made their mittens completely out of sweaters turned out totally adorable! (hello, cashmere mittens!)

I’ve been wearing my mittens every day. They fit perfectly and are totally cozy and warm. My mom will be happy to learn she doesn’t need to buy me gloves or mittens anymore.

In the back of my mind I’m already gathering ideas for next year’s Christmas gifts. These are currently at the top of the list. I’ve got another pair cut out and ready to sew!

p.s. You can read a cute interview with me on ‘oh my! handmade goodness‘. The piece was written by Debra Norton of Vintage Paper Parade. Thanks for including me in your piece, Debra!