It’s that time of year again.
Football games, woodsmoke, falling leaves, and chilly days.
Perfect weather for some fingerless mittens.
Lucky for me, someone donated this wool sweater to the thrift store because they washed it and thought it was ruined.
It is 100% wool which “felts” when washed and dried. The fibers become tight and won’t fray.
Cut off the bottom of the sleeve to the desired length of the mitten.
Make a paper pattern of your hand.
Turn the sleeve inside out and sew up the side to fit.
Then sew a triangular seam between the thumb and first finger.
Trim.
Turn it right side out.
Use a blanket stitch to finish off the edges.
Here’s a good tutorial to learn how to do the blanket stitch.
Now you’ve got some new stylish fingerless mittens to wear this fall.
Stay warm!!!
Beth
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I can’t wait to try this.
Have fun! It’s super easy!
Beth
That’s a great tute! Will keep eyes peeled for lovely wool jumpers!
Thanks, Janene! I love how you call them jumpers….:)
Very clever idea…you are so creative!
Thank you Mother Deer. I’ve been wanting to try this all summer. It’s finally cool enough to want to wear mittens again.
Oh Beth, how I regret that I am not on your Christmas list! I can only imagine all the beautiful little bric-a-brac your loved ones receive. I adore these gloves, everything about them — especially the color. That green is striking!
Thank you, Cara! You know, when I was about ten, my mom made the declaration that our Christmas would be a hand made one. Best. Christmas. Ever! Hands down! It was fun to see the gifts my uncrafty dad made. I distinctly remember each gift everyone received that year. I don’t always make things for gifts, but when I have the time, it’s one of my favorite things to do.
Stay warm,
Beth
Nice… I could do that, so much quicker than knitting them 😉
Oh, yes! Takes very little time to make these. Took me longer to find just the right sweater to use than to actually make them. I can’t wait to see what you make!
Beth
you are quite convincing lol! I have a garbage bag full of felted sweaters… I used to make mittens, now I’ll make fingerless ones 😉 sometimes soon preferably!
They are great for those with smart phones this time of year.
Loved your idea plus the blanket stitch was a fine touch to the glove
Thanks, Ada. The edge was already finished because it was the edge of the sleeve. But it really needed something fun. If I was really ambitious, I could learn some more embroidery stitches and embellish the tops of the mittens.
Stay warm!
Beth
Okay, this is my new favorite item of yours. I want them. I need them. I must have a pair. That’s two new favorites in one month. Gee, what’s up your sleeve (pun intended) next?
Paula
Thank you, Paula, Christmas is coming…..;)
I am going to pin this, so I remember to do it! Love this idea 🙂
Thank you! Have fun with it!
Beth
I usually just knit these from scratch, but this would be so much faster. Now, to find an old sweater I don’t mind cutting up ;). Thanks for the great idea.
You are so welcome! I’m all about quick and easy when it comes to sewing. Have fun and I can’t wait to see what you make!
Beth
So cosy, and what an easy tutorial to follow, will have to try this when we reach winter again here.
Thanks, Erica. I can’t wait to see how your mittens turn out. Happy sewing!
Beth
How ingenious. I love this idea. I have a gray sweater that’s all balled up like the one you used. Maybe it’s destined to become a pair of fingerless mittens.
I hope you get a chance to try this, gray would be so pretty with a yellow blanket stitch. Have a good week!
Beth
I hope so too, Beth. You’re right, gray and yellow would be very pretty. I did refashion a t-shirt following one of your tutorials the other day. Refashion could easily become an addiction. 😉
Ohhhh, I’d love to see your shirt! And yes, my site should come with an addiction warning. Once you start…you may not be able to stop….
Love seeing your different tutorials each week!
You must spend ages doing all the work plus everything towards the blog!!
Vicky
Thank you Vicky! Yes, sometimes its takes me longer to blog about the project than to actually make it. But it’s all fun to me.
Happy Monday!
Beth
Any advice on how to change the size of a waistband on a pair of jeans?? Have lost a bit of weight, especially around my waist so my jeans top are falling down, but everywhere else fits.
Vicky
I’ve never done anything like that before but I wonder if you stretched a piece of wide elastic wide sewing it to the waistband in the back. Might just bring it in enough. Let me know what you end up doing. I’m curious myself.
To en-smallen the waist of jeans, you can take very sharp darts over the side seams. It’s less than ideal, because it’s lumpy and you need to cover with a belt.
To properly reduce the waist measurement, you’d need to rip out the waistband, trim the side seams, and then restitch the waistband. Doesn’t work nicely because of the button and buttonhole, you can’t trim the end of the waistband to fit.
Too cute! Love that green
Thank you, Amy!!! I’m lovin’ green these days!
Have a great week!
Beth
My daughter would love these, instant gratification, now for a rummage in my husband’s closet
Oh, yes, they are very much an instant gratification project! Good luck and have fun!
Beth
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I share everyone else’s feelings about how utterly clever, cute, and wonderful these are. Thank you so much for sharing. But what really caught my eye is the font you used for the “in picture” instructions — it’s wonderful! Would you mind sharing with us which font it is (and perhaps where you got it)? Many thanks!
Going to go felt a sweater or two right now!
Oh, good! I’d love to see your mittens when you finish.
My daughter has been asking me to crochet her some of these for a little while now, but really I’m not great at crocheting. This would be so much faster and would turn out so much cuter than me crocheting them.
I’ve seen some beautiful crocheted mittens, but if you’re looking for a quick project, this is it! Hope you get a chance to try this.
I used the arm of a felted sweater to make a doggie sweater. Since the sweater was fully fashioned, it had a shaped shoulder. I separated the body and arm seam, then cut straight across at approximately the elbow. I cut two little arm holes near the elbow end. The shaped shoulder portion covered his hips, while providing a cut-away around his belly so he could do his business.
Now that I’m pondering this, the remainder of the sleeve from elbow to wrist, could provide the fingerless gloves. With matching blanket stitch on doggie sweater and fingerless gloves, you would have a very chic dog-walking outfit!
Oh yes, a matching dog walking outfit!!!
Do you use the left-over of the sweater for something else? I have angora rabbits and am thinking I might make them sweaters to wear after their fall/winter shearing.
My wrists and hands get so COLD, and this will be a solution! Thank you!!!
You are so very welcome, Debbie!
Thank you for posting this! I run a living history group for teens and college girls, and we’ll be making these mitts (without the blanket stitch) at our meeting tonight so we’ll have “1860s wool mitts” to wear at our fall and winter events. (Some of us do not knit well enough to make the Godey’s patterns that usually get passed around.) 🙂
Here’s how my pair came out. My sweater had a big section of ribbed turtleneck that made a cowl before the sweater shrank, and I used that section for my mitts. We’ll make another pair from the sleeves, and probably a third pair using the ribbing at the bottom of the sweater. 🙂
Thanks for sharing this with me, Dana! It’s so fun for me to know how the tutorials are being used.
You’re welcome. 🙂 Here are the results from our meeting:
Fun! Thanks so much for sending a picture!!! They all turned out great!
Hello! I love this project. I have only one question. What did you do with the rest of the sweater?
Hi Denise. I still have the rest of the sweater, just waiting for another project. 🙂
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On Tuesday mornings I do check-in for my churches food distribution. As the mornings get colder I feel I need my fingers free but my hands warm. I have been looking for a good tutorial for finger free gloves. Thank you.
What a great thing to do on Tuesday mornings Sue. Please let me know if you have any questions if you make these.
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How did you finish the top of the mitten–the arm part?
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Have you made any skirts with the different fabrics in different shapes that look like they were serged together?
Hi Hazel, No I haven’t made any skirts like that. Sorry.
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