I made these mittens from old wool sweaters that I felted. I got the idea from a friend of my mom's who showed me a homemade pair that she received from her daughter.
You can make sweater mittens from any type of sweater but I chose felted wool for two reasons. One, it's easier to work with because once the wool is felted, it doesn't fray which makes sewing a breeze. Two, wool is a great insulator on those cold winter days.
I wanted the mittens to have a lining because wool can be very irritating to your skin. So I lined each mitten with fleece which adds an extra layer of warmth and coziness. For the pattern, I traced around my hand on graph paper, and then cut out a front and back for each mitten out of the sweater and fleece lining. 
I also reused the sweater cuffs for mitten cuffs. I cut about a 4 inch piece off of the sweater cuff and sewed it together with the mitten and the lining. I finished each mitten off with a pretty button.
12 comments:
These are so sweet! As always, you are the most creative person I know!
:)
Oh, those are so very, very cute!!!
Beautiful. I saw an article on this in Martha Stewart Living a year or two ago, bought an old wool sweater to felt at Opportunity House, and never proceeded. These are gorgeous. Mary
The mittens are adorable!
Oooooh, glad I got to see the sweater mittens you were talking about... they are darling! I love the touches of the sweater cuff and the decorative button... just gorgeous. Girl, you don't do anything half way... you go 100%...lining and all!
Once again you amaze me! You took one look at these when we were in Wisconsin and then whipped 'em up when you got home! If I could only be half as crafty as you I would be thrilled ;)
I love them! Can you tell me how you lined the mittens?
Dear Anonymous,
To make the lining, simply use the same pattern for the fleece that you used for the wool part of the mittens. Sew the fleece, wrong sides together, so your seem will be on the outside. Place the fleece mitten inside of the wool mitten, and turn both inside out.
Here's the tricky part, when the mitten is inside out, with the fleece part on the outside, take your sweater cuff and turn it inside out and place it over the fleece, lining up the raw edges of all three pieces, the wool mit, fleece mit, and cuff. Sew all three together and turn inside out.
If you have anymore questions, leave your email and I can send you some pictures of the process.
These are fantastic! I was admiring Steph's today. :) Now I may have to felt an old sweater or two...
those are gorgeous!!!
I would love to see pictures of how you add the lining to these! I've tried it myself but it never came out right and I hand stitched the bottoms. HELP!
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