Introduction: Mitten Scarf
Hi all!!
Just wanted to show what I did for my youngest DD. We were getting ready to go out side and she was not happy with any of the glove and mitten choices available to her. She kept complaining about the snow getting up her sleeves and making her arms cold. Well I finally convinced her to choose a pair of mittens and sent her on her way. About an hour later she comes stomping in and complains about her sleeves are full of snow and she needed a new pair of mittens and a dry shirt. Sure enough right around the wrist band was packed a wad of snow that hit the floor with a "whump" leaving us both feeling the cold. After the change and playing for another hour she and her DS were ready to come in for hot coco and homemade "marshmallow" experiment. We talked about what would work better and was thinking mittens that went up past her elbows, but the problem with that is they may scrunch down and make her uncomfortable. I gave it some thought and asked her if she wanted something that would attach to her head like a scarf but the mittens were attached to it. So we went to my stash of wool and cashmere sweaters I had been collecting and wanting to use for various reasons and found a sweater she liked, it looked so good on her I thought it was a shame to cut it up. So she gets to keep it and went searching for another. Finally after much digging we found and old Lord and Taylor two ply cashmere sweater with a little damage to it. Not the prettiest of colors, but the moment she touched it she was hooked. It was so soft she started hugging it and it took a couple of days to get to it. Finally the moment was right. Here is our story.
First I researched here for a ideas found this:
https://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-to-Sew-Fingerless-Gloves/
which was close to what I was thinking. I was able to do this in 2 sittings on the same day. Someone more experienced will get this done in about 1/2 hour or less.
Just wanted to show what I did for my youngest DD. We were getting ready to go out side and she was not happy with any of the glove and mitten choices available to her. She kept complaining about the snow getting up her sleeves and making her arms cold. Well I finally convinced her to choose a pair of mittens and sent her on her way. About an hour later she comes stomping in and complains about her sleeves are full of snow and she needed a new pair of mittens and a dry shirt. Sure enough right around the wrist band was packed a wad of snow that hit the floor with a "whump" leaving us both feeling the cold. After the change and playing for another hour she and her DS were ready to come in for hot coco and homemade "marshmallow" experiment. We talked about what would work better and was thinking mittens that went up past her elbows, but the problem with that is they may scrunch down and make her uncomfortable. I gave it some thought and asked her if she wanted something that would attach to her head like a scarf but the mittens were attached to it. So we went to my stash of wool and cashmere sweaters I had been collecting and wanting to use for various reasons and found a sweater she liked, it looked so good on her I thought it was a shame to cut it up. So she gets to keep it and went searching for another. Finally after much digging we found and old Lord and Taylor two ply cashmere sweater with a little damage to it. Not the prettiest of colors, but the moment she touched it she was hooked. It was so soft she started hugging it and it took a couple of days to get to it. Finally the moment was right. Here is our story.
First I researched here for a ideas found this:
https://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-to-Sew-Fingerless-Gloves/
which was close to what I was thinking. I was able to do this in 2 sittings on the same day. Someone more experienced will get this done in about 1/2 hour or less.
Step 1: Find the Right Sweater
After much searching we found this butter soft cashmere sweater which was buried in the bottom of a bag of other sweaters. We choose this for the turtle neck so she could cover her head and neck while wearing this under her coat. As you can see it does a great job acting like a scarf. It is a little long in the sleeve and body.
Step 2: Preparing the Body
While she was wearing the sweater I marked where the cut should be to remove the body and decided how long the sleeves needed to be trimmed. I did change my mind about trimming the sleeves because I wanted a double layer of fabric covering her fingers so I rolled up the sleeve to the desired length and pinned it in place. Then I let my model loose for a while until I needed her again.
Step 3:
Now I cut along the line I made and could hem it if I want to, but it is not really necessary because it has been felted and won't unravel. I stitch along the wrist to keep it folded and won't confuse the fingers with gaps or holes in the mitten when putting her hand in. Using the info in https://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-to-Sew-Fingerless-Gloves/ I was able to make a thumb with a basting stitch and cut where necessary. Then I flipped it inside out for the seam to be properly stitched. I called my DD again to help with finding her thumb. I had to do this a couple times because I sometimes get very confused with my rights and lefts. LOL! The last pic is of the thumb completely stitched and ready to do the mitt part. I wanted to do a curve for the mitt but couldn't quite feel confident enough to not botch it. So I sewed it straight across. Like I said earlier a more experienced seamstress will be able to do a much better job.
Step 4: The Finished Scarf Mittens
Here is my wild thing now. She loves them, and will get to try them out tomorrow. I'll update this with her critic when I can. I feel I did pretty good considering I sewed it by hand and had to take breaks.
Thank you for taking the time to look. Any suggestions would be invaluable to me for making this better. I think my older DD wants one as well. She hasn't said so yet, but she is not the type to ask out right so I am sensing some "I want one, too" vibes.
Thank you for taking the time to look. Any suggestions would be invaluable to me for making this better. I think my older DD wants one as well. She hasn't said so yet, but she is not the type to ask out right so I am sensing some "I want one, too" vibes.