How To Make Mittens from Old Sweaters FYI...Photo is not a pair of Jerri's
We’ve featured a recycled artist, in the store, that recycles old sweaters to make glorious mittens. Jerri has been doing it for quite sometime so her designs are somewhat more elaborate and elegantly lined, than the project below…but if your budget doesn’t dictate $39.99 & up for one of her custom creations, here are a few easy sweaters into mittens recycled art projects that we found on About.com and instructables.
There’s even a instructional video for those of us that need a visual that helps us easily create our own pair of warm and very cool mittens.
Unfortunately, Jerri is now creating her recycled sweater mittens as custom orders only…and only for a special few…so I guess I’ll just have to try to make my own.
WHAT YOU NEED:
An old sweater
Paper
A pen or pencil
Scissors
Thread
Sewing pins
A sewing machine (optional)
HOW YOU DO IT:
Follow these simple instructions and you’ll have a pair of cozy woolen mittens in no time.
1. Lay one of your hands (doesn’t matter which one) on a piece of paper with your fingers together, and your thumb out at the side – just as they would be inside of a mitten. Then, trace around your hand.
2. Add a half-inch all the way around your traced hand to allow for seams, and an inch or more at the bottom of the mitten to create a cuff. Make any other necessary tweaks to your mitten design before finalizing your pattern.
Note: If you have a pair of mittens that fit you especially well, you can use them as your pattern. Just trace around one of the mittens, and add in the allowances for seams and cuffs.
3. Cut out your mitten pattern, and pin it to the front of the sweater. For a nice, finished cuff, line up the bottom edge of your pattern with the bottom edge of the sweater.
4. Cut around the mitten pattern. This will give you two mitten-shaped pieces of fabric.
5. Flip the mitten pattern, and pin it to another section of the sweater. Then, cut around the pattern to create the second mitten.
6. Flip the mittens inside out, and pin together.
7. Stitch around the edge of both mittens, leaving a quarter-inch seam allowance. Then, flip them right-side out, and your mittens are ready to wear!
If I can actually do this…I’ll brag about it later…watch for pics.
Carpe Diem!
