Friday, September 25, 2009

Fleece mittens & scarf tutorial

Kellie blogs regularly at her personal blog Greenhab as well as the Green Phone Booth.

I'm bringing you a last minute project today and apologize in advance for the poor photo quality. I've been working away late at night after the kids are in bed and dishes done and school lunches packed and laundry folded. It's the only time I find peace and quiet but, unfortunately, not a lot of good photo lighting.

I had a completely different project planned for this week, but we ran into a little surprise this week in Colorado -- SNOW! It wasn't the snow that I minded so much, but the fact that we don't have any snow gear for our daughter yet. As I bundled the boys up in hats, gloves and scarves she looked sadly at me and asked in her broken English "Where Macy's?" Awww...

Since we're Compacting (not buying anything new) at least through the end of the year, I put a request up on Freecycle in hopes that someone might have some cast-offs we could use. I also took a look through my fabric stash and found some pretty, girly fleece I found on clearance a while back. I'd planned on making a little throw blanket for Macy with it, but winter accessories suddenly seem much more important!

I don't really have a step-by-step tutorial for you because this was SO EASY that you won't need one.

For the scarf, I cut two long pieces of the fleece and sewed them together down each long side, stopping about 6 inches from the bottom. I trimmed the sides with pinking shears. Then I made strips with that 6 inches left over at the bottom and tied the strips in knots. Just like one of those no-sew fleece blankets. Voila - a scarf!


For the gloves, I made a pattern by tracing my daughter's hand. I cut out a front and back piece for each glove and used some elastic from an old fitted bed sheet I'd taken apart for another project.



I sewed the elastic onto each piece first, then sewed each front and back piece together, right sides facing. Turn right side out, trim the wrist with pinking shears and you're done.


We'll need something a little more water proof to get her through the "real" winter, but this is a good start for any more freak snow storms or cold snaps we have.

I'm also planning to make her a hat, but won't get to that until the weekend. I'm going to try the tutorial I found here on deviantART.com.

Here's wishing you many more warm days before winter comes to your neck of the woods!

8 comments:

  1. Snow?! Ahhhh! I'd be crying, but I supposed it is probably pretty normal in the mountains. Those cute items should keep her toasty!

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  2. I only found your blog recently, but love it! So full of great ideas and inspiration!

    When you get a chance, please stop by my humble little blog to pick up the Lovely Blog Award I have for you!

    http://newenglandnanny.blogspot.com/2009/09/walking-red-carpet.html

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  3. Great cool weather project!! I posted a link to your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:
    http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-fleece-scarf-and-mittens/2009/09/26/

    --Anne

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  4. I ran across your blog from craf gossip. I made a scarf and hat from this same material/print last winter!!! Great minds! And now I know what to do with the rest of the material... mittens :)

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  5. Those are super cute! I think that is a wonderful use of that fleece, and she will be nice a toasty. We have not reached freezing here yet, but we have had many 40 degree mornings already.
    http://sharingourgifts.blogspot.com

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  6. How cute are those?!?!? and how easy, I will have to make some of these up for Christmas gifts for Great nieces and nephews.

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  7. I just had one of those weird life moments.
    your instructions are super and I like the pattern. The weird moment is, my name is Kellie too. (very rare spelling by the way) it gets weirder though. My blog name is Make it with me.

    www.makeitwithme-kell.blogspot.com

    We should watch each other, I think there might be some strange alternate universe at work here.

    ReplyDelete