I am excited to feature Etsy member, SuzeesJubileeZ, in today’s post. She is a member of the Maine Etsy Team and creates hats, mittens, and other felted gifts out of sweaters donated to Goodwill! She was kind enough to share some pictures and simple directions on how you can make your own pair of mitts (wrist warmers) at home.
From Susan:
Here is a hat that I made from a sweater.
I made this little pouch from an upper sleeve of a sweater.
Here are some larger bags made from the bodies of sweaters.
Here is a cute little bag made from a sweater vest!
The mitts are gone at this time but I do have some waiting to be made. Lately I have been working on needlefelted ornaments.
Here is a pair that I sold:
How to Make Your Own Mitts!
Mitts are very easy to make . First I wash the sweater in very hot water. It has to be 100 percent wool (dry clean only) and some “wool” sweaters made abroad don’t seem to work (it is unclear why). Figure out how long you want them to be and cut the sleeve right before the elbow ( after the first wash). You want the original sleeve cuff to ride the hand around the first knuckle of your index finger so measure the distance between that and your thumbjoint and cut a hole big enough for your thumb to go through. Make sure to blanket stitch this cut and the end of the cuff ( I generally stitch with 100% non washable wool yarn). I also add beads sometimes and tassles near the elbow.
Embellish as you wish but some sort of finishing stitch with wool is a must at the thumb hole and near the elbow.
Lovely ex-sweaters, Suzee! These are so fun. I could rock out in that hat, for sure!
Great feature!