How to Make Mittens from Recycled Wool
- In This Quick Guide:
- Recycling Wool
- What You Will Need
- Prepare the Pattern and Fabric
- Put It Together
In a pinch for a quick holiday gift or need to perk up your winter wardrobe? Stitch up a new pair of mittens from recycled wool! These mittens are super easy to put together and can be made from almost any kind of recycled wool—old skirts, sweaters, blazers—you name it! Add a bit of ribbon for a handy hanging loop.
Recycling Wool
Wool is a wonderful renewable fiber that can be spun, woven, or knitted into beautiful yarns and fabric. When washed in hot water, wool fibers shrink and felt, or mat together, to create a warm, dense fabric that won’t ravel when cut.
Wool fabric is available in most general sewing stores and some quilt shops, and you can often find wool skirts, blazers, or sweaters suitable for felting at second-hand stores. Be sure to choose 100 percent wool that’s not labeled washable. Fiber blends and treated washable wools won’t felt.
How to Recycle a Wool Garment
- Remove any zippers, buttons, or other trims and fasteners.
- Place the wool items in a lingerie bag or an old pillowcase to control excess lint. Fill your washing machine with hot water; add a small amount of regular washing detergent and the bagged items. Run the washer on a regular—not delicate—wash cycle; the agitation is crucial. When the wash cycle ends, check your newly felted wool fabric. For a tighter felt, repeat the process.
- Toss the bagged items in the dryer, or lay them flat to air dry. Press with a warm steam iron to remove wrinkles.
What You Will Need
Yardage will vary depending on mitten size. A single small- to average-size adult mitten requires one 18×14 inch felted wool remnant for the outer mitten, plus one 18×14 inch remnant for the light- to medium-weight woven cotton lining material. Double the yardage to make a pair.
- Mitten pattern (see below)
- Two pieces 18×14 inch felted wool (more for a larger mitten)
- Two pieces 18×14 inch cotton fabric remnant (more for a larger mitten)
- One 6-inch length of ¼-inch grosgrain ribbon
- Scissors
- Needle
- Thread
- Pins
- Point turner*
- Iron
Prepare the Pattern and Fabric
- Print the mitten pattern, enlarging or reducing as needed to fit your hand. Your knuckles should fit comfortably within the endpoints of line A.
- Cut two mittens, reversing one, from both the outer and lining fabrics. Use a needle and thread to stitch a tailor’s tack* at each of the four small dots between the thumb and finger areas.
- Fold the ribbon in half to form a 3-inch loop. Pin the loop ends to the right side of one mitten lining piece at point B, aligning the raw edges of the ribbon and fabric. Stitch the ribbon ends in place ⅜ inch from the mitten edge.
- With right sides together, pin and sew the mitten lining together along the mitten outer edge, as indicated by the pattern seam line, catching the ribbon loop in the seam and pivoting at each tailor’s tack. Leave a 2- or 3-inch gap in the seam line along the mitten edge opposite the thumb for turning.
- Trim the seam allowance to ¼ inch. Clip the curves and notch the seam allowance between the thumb and finger area.
- With right sides together, pin and sew the outer mitten pieces together along the mitten outer edge, pivoting at each tailor’s tack. Trim the seam allowance to ¼ inch. Clip the curves and notch the seam allowance between the thumb and finger area.
- Turn the outer mitten to the right side, and use a point turner to smooth the seam around the curves and thumb. Press the turned seam.
- Place the outer mitten (right side out) inside the lining (wrong side out), with the fabrics’ right sides together and the seams aligned. An easy way to do this is to place the outer mitten on your hand, then slip your hand and the mitten inside the lining.
- Pin the outer mitten and lining together around the cuff edge, making sure the seam allowances are pressed open to reduce bulk. Stitch the cuff edges together.
- Turn the mitten right side out through the gap in the lining seam. Use a point turner to smooth the curves in the lining. Press the lining seam.
- Press the cuff seam toward the lining. Tuck the lining inside the mitten, creasing and pressing the stitched cuff edge.
- Turn one to two inches of the cuff to the right side, exposing the contrasting lining.
Put It Together
Use a ½-inch seam allowance and backstitch at the beginning and end of each seam unless otherwise noted.
And there you have it! Once you get the hang of making these warm and snuggly mittens, you’ll be making them for everyone you know—and you can even try the same technique to make a hat to go with them. Have fun, and happy stitching!
by Missy Shepler and Rebecca Kemp Brent, authors of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Sewing
A point turner is a small, handheld sewing tool, usually made of wood or plastic, with a blunt point at one end. The point is used to shape corners and points of collars, pockets, and other items.
A tailor’s tack is a loose, removable stitch used to mark the place where an action must be taken—a pivot or where two pieces of fabric should be stitched together, for example.
