Years ago when I was going through my late son’s clothes, I came across a thick, wool Abercrombie and Fitch sweater that his sister loved to borrow. I was never a fan of scratchy wool, but she had loved it.
It looked as if it had been washed and had shrunk. What do do with it now? I’d seen pictures of mittens made from sweaters, and figured it couldn’t be that hard.
Of course, this was pre-Pinterest, the source how-to source to make just about anything. I was on my own. The best I could come up with was a simple flat pattern.
The mittens didn’t turn out too bad. I sewed three pairs from one sweater– a pair for my daughter, my other son and myself. I wear mine when I walk the dog in the winter.
A better mitten
When friends from our old neighborhood in Ohio recently lost an adult son, my daughter brought me his sweater and asked me to make mittens. She also showed me three-piece patterns on Pinterest for sewing mittens with opposing thumbs. This pattern makes a much better mitten than the flat pattern I had earlier used.
Luckily I still had a few of my late son’s sweaters to play with. The pattern is so easy. I sewed a new pair from my son’s sweater for my daughter, and from Michael’s sweater, I sewed a pair each for his mother and his sister.
I lined the mittens with recycled t-shirt material. You could also used fleece to line them. Be sure to wash the sweaters first, even if they are wool. The sweater will shrink but washing also tightens the wool, and the end result is a washable mitten. Win-win.
You can’t really drive with your hands in mittens, but you can’t beat wool for warmth when you’re walking the dog or playing outdoors in the wintertime. Mittens sewn from a loved one’s sweater will make a treasured gift.