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project: folk felt mittens

Felt Mittens


Let's talk for a moment about craft fails. We all have them. Sometimes we overcome them, sometimes we rework them, but rarely do we want to share them.

After my latest fail, I wasn't so sure that I was ready to completely remake what I had completely messed up. Thankfully, some very kind and encouraging Twitter friends helped me realize that changing my failure into a success would make me happy. They were right.

And now I have some sweet new mittens! The trimming I used is vintage, and I use it only for special projects because I love its folk-look so much and want to save it! You can make a pair for yourself (and hopefully avoid the same fatal mistake I made!) by grabbing some simple supplies. And at the end of this post, you'll find the first pair that I made. (*hangs head in shame*)

Felt Mittens

You will need:

wool blend felt (1/3 yard or four 9x12 sheets)
cotton batting (the same equivalent as the felt)
decorative ribbon (about 12 inches)
embroidery floss to match your ribbon

Mitten Pattern PDF
(This pattern will fit most. My sister is modeling above and she has small hands.)

Felt Mittens

Using the pattern template, cut out four mitten shapes from felt and four mitten shapes from batting. Be sure to note the cutting instructions on the template for if your printer shrinks the pattern.

Felt Mittens

Cut a piece of ribbon to be the same width as the cuff section of the mitten. Pin it in place as shown, then stitch it onto the felt. I used matching embroidery floss so you don't really see the stitches.

Repeat on a second mitten piece, but be sure that the shape is flipped the opposite direction and that they are the same distance from the straight edge. If you prefer, add ribbon to all four mitten pieces.

Felt Mittens

Pin each felt piece to a batting piece. Use blanket stitch along the straight edge to sew these two pieces together.

Felt Mittens

Pin a plain mitten shape to a ribboned mitten shape with right sides together. Sew around the shape on a sewing machine, backstitching at the start and finish. Use a 1/4-inch seam allowance.

Clip the curves, and trim off the excess fabric on the thumb within about 1/8-inch of the stitching.

Felt Mittens
Felt Mittens

Turn the mittens and check for fit. If they are a little big, you can turn them inside out and stitch in a little closer, but be sure to leave the cuff opening with plenty of room. Why? Because otherwise you may have a craft fail.

Felt Mittens Fail

First, let me start by saying, I think these are very cute-looking mittens. I love the shape so much, and really, this is what I would like my mittens to look like.

Next, let me tell you how I got here. I had an idea that I wanted to make felt (not felted) mittens. Then I happened upon some instructions in a really old craft book. When it came time to make these, I couldn't find the book, so I Googled felt mittens. A nice tutorial came up with how to trace your hand to get the template. Either they were wrong or I measured wrong, because take a look:

Felt Mittens Fail

My hand is not going in there. I hoped that I could still make use of these by passing them onto my skinny 8-year-old sister. HER hands won't go in there! Clearly, I messed up.

For the record, I only sewed up one of these before finding my blunder, but the materials had already been cut and half made, so I figured, I might as well finish off the second mitten. I now plan on adding a string and using them as winter holiday decor. Maybe hanging on our antique sled? All is not wasted.

I really am glad that I decided to give this another go. Even if I do have mittens that look a bit oven-mitt-ish. And even if I accidentally snipped one of my blanket stitched edges and need to go back and fix it. I'll still call this a win in the end!

Now, if you're feeling extra brave today, share your biggest craft fail with us. It's really so much better when you just get it out in the open!

12 comments:

  1. These are really sweet - way to make lemonade from lemons.. tee hee!
    Recovering the creativity out of my mistakes is one of my main 'signature moves'...I kind of love that challenge - in art, and life. ;o)

    mel
    needle and nest design

    ReplyDelete
  2. I did this exact same fail with an oven mitt I tried to make for my boyfriend! Normal people's hands go in, but it's so tight that you can't bend the thumb or grasp anything at all (not so useful for an oven mitt...) So embarrassing and frustrating! I traced an oven mitt to make it, but I didn't leave an adequate seam allowance--I think I just eyeballed it, and also did not account for the many layers of stuff in an oven mitt (fabric, lining, two layers of heat-repellant batting) that would make the seams much fatter than normal.

    There wasn't much salvaging to it, as I'd already cut it so close to the seam, but his mom has tiny hands and can kind of use it. They take it to football tailgates.

    Ah well. Once we make mistakes on this sort of thing, it's really hard to make the same mistake again!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can see the whole disastrous affair here: http://mylifeinbinding.blogspot.com/2012/06/wip-py-skippy.html

      Re-reading it makes me laugh. I really did make a lot of mistakes on that one!

      Delete
  3. Mollie,

    I was going to say that these could be a decoration of some kind but you beat me to it.

    Maureen

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  4. Anonymous5:17 PM

    I have a few "old" craft books as well as old books (historical reprints) for making clothes (costumes). They have one page patterns for dresses and skirts etc. It could be that the book (whether they mentioned it or not) expected people to adjust the pattern to size. It could be that back then (before WW2), sewing your own clothes was common so everyone KNEW they were supposed to adjust the size, so there was no reason to mention it on the page. The books I have do not mention that either, but then again an 8&1/2 X 11 inch skirt pattern is not suitable for ANYONE so adjusting the size is obvious. Mittens though, might look okay on the page, unlike a dress or blouse. Anyhow, I would use that "mistake" as a christmas ornament also. :-)

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  5. These will make a lovely decoration. Thanks for sharing! Hugs, Aileen

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  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  7. Your mittens look so nice!
    I made the same mistake when I wanted to make hand puppets. I didn't have a pattern, so I just traced my hand and wrist, added some seam allowance and started sewing. When finished it didn't fit at all!
    To make things worse, I was teaching a group of children to make these puppets, in the same way. They made there puppets so beautifully, and looked sad when there hands could not fit. I felt so stupid. Luckily one of the parents came up with the idea to cut a slit in the wrist part, and the problem was solved :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:33 AM

      The reason that your hand did not fit into the puppets was because your hand is not very flat. (I am sure you already figured this out.:-) You have to take the thickness of your hand into account as well.

      Delete
  8. Using the mittens as a decoration is a great idea! You can't let that folksy trim go to waste. I had a similar craft fail when making a fleece hat once. Couldn't get it on my head!

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  9. I make this same mistake when making mittens for Christmas presents this past Christmas!!! Luckily I had started off with the lining and tried them on to make sure the lining would fit before I did the outer pieces. I think your mitten mistake will look great on the antique sleigh.

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  10. You could also sew a cute ribbon on the cuffs of each one to make two little "baskets" and fill with candy canes or treats, and hang them on the Christmas tree, or use as a package topper. I think that would be adorable.

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