Hi, I am Valerie. I am a Mom to 5 kids ages 19, 15, 5, 3, and 1 with a grandbaby due in June. We live in west Michigan and help run a family hobby farm. We do our best to raise our food and repurpose what we can to keep a small footprint. We try to live as frugal as possible so that I am able stay home with our kids. With so many kids we have all extra circular area covered, from starting 4 H this year to sports and volunteering at an animal rescue.
Living in Michigan we have cold winters, baby hands freeze and mittens do not stay on. After loosing probably 20 mittens I decided to custom make some. I raided the closets for thick wool or wool blend sweaters we never wear and set to work. These are simple to make and keep hands toasty. By making the wrist narrower even the 1 year old keeps them on.
All you need is:
~Old sweaters (Check local thrift stores)
~Sewing machine
~Scissors
~Marker
Directions: Lay out the sweater flat. Fold in half so you have 4 layers. Trace the hand you plan to cover, be sure to go at least ½ inch from the hand. This gives you room to sew. For easy slip on mittens I add about ¾ – 1 inch on either side of the wrist, snug fit (Babies and toddlers) I only leave about ¼ – ½ inch. Cut all layers at once with very sharp fabric scissors.
Place your mittens right sides together; you are going to sew them inside out. Be sure to lay them out so you have one for each hand. Run a seam around the perimeter leaving the wrist open. If your seam is bulky, trim with scissors to remove bulk from in mitten. Turn your sweater mittens right side out using a pen or similar to push the thumb all the way out.
Your DIY sweater mittens are ready to wear! Wash in the wash machine and line dry.
Hope you love your DIY Sweater Mittens! My littles do and its such a practical alternative to spending all the money on mittens that will just get lost!
xoxo – Valerie
Aren’t these DIY Sweater Mittens ADORABLE! I’m thinking I need to make some for myself… even if its almost spring here in Texas 🙂
Upcycle old sweaters…LOVE this!
Really fun, and I’m thinking the rest of that sweater could be some kind of stuffed animal monster with a pocket for storing the mittens. Thanks for sharing on craft schooling Sunday!
I have seen these before in botiques and they’re usually a little pricy! I love the idea of using old sweaters, especially if they aren’t good enough to donate!
Thanks for sharing with us on Throwback Thursday & we’re looking forward already to what you’ll bring next week! 🙂
Mollie
I used to live outside Detroit and I remember those great lakes winters! Now I live in Arizona where I rarely need mittens but super cute idea!!
love the manner in which these are made I am sure they must be good and warm thanks for sharing
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