DIY Mittens

I'm sure the rest of the US is finally feeling the warm temperatures sneak in. This past week, here in grand old Utah, it couldn't decide between warm and sunny, or snowy and depressing. So of course, we started bringing out the few items we thought it was safe to start packing up. We should have known better. I feel like I never have enough winter apparel. It's probably because I've lived here all my life, and I have become accustomed to freezing weather, so I don't actually wear that much to keep myself warm (weird, I know). My poor husband is not, in any way, accustomed to the cold, so we had to start thinking outside the box for ways to keep him bundled during the winter months. On Pinterest I've seen a few pins using old sweaters to make mittens. Luckily for us, we happened to have a few of those lying around. I think they are a great easy project to do right before all the snow comes in. Or you could be like me, and make a tutorial in April. To each his own, eh?

DIY MITTENS

Supplies:

1 old (but in good condition) sweater

paper for tracing your hand (optional)

tailors chalk (optional)

pins

scissors

sewing machine

thread (doesn't have to match)

1. Pick a sweater to start with. I grabbed this old fleece one that used to belong to my dad way back when (...like the late 90's).

2. Grab either a piece of paper, or tailors chalk. Lay your hand on either the paper, or the sweater itself. Trace your hand, adding about 1/2 an inch extra. Don't skip this step, otherwise, your mittens will be skin tight. You'll have to find a new sweater and start over. Ain't nobody got time for that. 

3. For the paper tracing: Once you've traced your hand, cut it out, pin to your sweater, and cut out your first mitten. Repeat with the other hand. 

For the tailors chalk tracing: Since you tracing right onto the fabric, once you're certain you've got what you want, cut out your first mitten. Repeat with the other hand. 

Note: When I cut out my mitten, I added just an extra bit of fabric, as you can see in the 2nd and 3rd picture. The reason I did this is because I like to have a little over what I need, in case I have to unpick and start over. On the wrist, I like my mittens to come down over my wrist a good distance. If you don't care, then just skip this part.

4. Once mittens are cut out, flip them inside out, and pin all the way around, except for the wrist opening. 

5. Straight stitch around the mitten, making sure to go slow, and pivot when necessary. As you can see below, I followed the inner right prong on my presser foot as a guide. Another guide would be to use tailors chalk to draw a line to sew on, about 1/4 inch from the raw edge.  

6. Trim your extra strings, remove the pins, and carefully flip inside out. 

And then you're done!