Over the years I've gotten so tired of the flimsy knit, fleece or otherwise impractical mittens for kids. None really keep their hands warm or dry. We needed some really robust mittens that could take snowballs, sled rides and other snow-related activities. Winter can be downright frigid and little hands need to stay toasty! Sooooo, I created these babies: Insulated Snow Mittens.
Earlier this week I shared my DIY Insulated Snow Pants and these mittens use all the same materials. This makes them waterproof on the outside, cuddly soft on the inside and with a thermal layer in between to really keep out the cold. The trifecta of a great mitten!! Added bonus, if you make the snow pants, at least 2 pairs of mittens can be made with the scrap fabric leftover!
Note - The fabric amounts below are in case you're only making mittens. This will make several pairs and fit approximately ages 2-8yrs.
You'll Need:
- 1/4 yd Anti-pill or Micro Fleece, which makes a cuddly, hardwearing lining.
- 1/4 yd Thermal Batting aka Insulating Lining, (traditionally used for making hot pads). It's needle pricked with silvery mylar to add the critical insulate so the warmth stays in & cold stays out.
- 1/4 yd PUL (polyurethane laminate), a laminated polyester traditional used for making cloth diapers - ideal because it's waterproof and lightweight.
- 1/2 yd One quarter inch wide elastic
- 1/2 yd FOE (fold over elastic) - Find more info on using FOE here.
- Sewing Notions (matching thread, rotary cutter/shears, pins, sewing machine)
- My mitten pattern below
Click HERE to download my mitten pattern
Start by printing pattern. Make two copies of first page. Cut out one as the top of mitten piece and the other with the curved section removed for the bottom (see notes on pattern). Cut thumb sections from second page. Fold fabrics in half and cut out pattern pieces from the PUL, batting and fleece, so you will end up with a pair of each piece.
Lay batting on top of wrong side of fleece pieces. With right sides together, sew one long thumb piece along one side of a top piece with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Make sure to sew the next long thumb onto the opposite side of the other top mitten (or you'll end up with 2 mittens for the same hand!). Repeat sewing step with PUL.
Next stitch small thumb piece to the curved section of the palm piece as shown below, with right sides together and mirroring for the other hand as done with the tops. Do the same for the PUL pieces:
Trim down and cut notches into the seam allowance on the PUL pair so the curve with bend smoothly:
This is how the pieces should look:
Now take the top and palm PUL pieces and, with right sides facing, stitch down the long (non-thumb) side only and open. With wrong side of fabric facing up, and starting 1.5 inches inward from the cuff edge, attached the quarter inch elastic with a wide zig-zag stitch, pulling elastic taut as you sew.
Baste layers together, close to the edge. Finish raw cuff using FOE (fold over elastic) as a binding, sewing into place with a triple zig-zag stitch close to the edge of the FOE. Toss in dryer on high for about 10 minutes to seal the needle holes in the PUL. Now the mittens are ready for snow!
I also made a toddler version without thumbs (just using the top pattern piece for both sides) and inserted one end of a strip of twill tape under each mitten cuffs as I stitched them on so they'd be the "on a string" variety.
I'm also sharing this with my FAVE LINK PARTIES.
Click HERE to check them out!
Cheryl,
ReplyDeleteThese are adorable. I would love to have you share this with this weeks Wednesdays Adorned From Above Blog Hop. It runs from Tuesday night through midnight Sunday. Here is the link to the party.
http://www.adornedfromabove.com/2013/01/wednesdays-adorned-from-above-blog-hop_22.html
Debi and Charly @ Adorned From Above
Oh my, I think I could actually make those following your directions!! My future grandchildren will have warm hands their whole lives thanks to you!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Doni
Out of a large party, Cheryl, I always pick your items to view! Nice tutorial on these mittens. Beautiful sewing also. I pinned this for future use! I love to sew also. Take care, Linda would love to have you link these up to my What to Do Weekend Party also.
ReplyDeletehttp://twosucculentsisters.blogspot.com/2013/01/what-to-do-weekends-3.html
What a wonderful compliment Linda:)
DeleteThank you for the pattern. The wording right sides together makes sense to me. Right sides facing is very confusing. I believe they mean the same thing but I have never heard the term, right sides facing and I've been sewing on and off for 40 years. Sticking with one term throughout directions would eliminate confusion. Unless I am confused and they mean 2 different things. We shall see. I will try to make these later today.
DeleteStay tuned.
They mean the same thing and are used interchangeably in pattern making. I've published patterns in numerous sewing magazines with both phrases. I use both in my tutorials as some readers are very novice level, often sewing for the first time as they make it, and appreciate multiple words with the same meaning to affirm to them they are doing things correctly when they are unsure of themselves.
DeleteAnother very easy to follow tutorial, Cheryl. LOVE the dalmatian fabric!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Pam - I love that fabric too. I'd been eyeing it for some time but didn't know what to use it for. Now we use it everyday and it's great!
DeleteAdorable, Cheryl! Fabulous tutorial, thanks for sharing!Love the fabric too!
ReplyDeleteHave a great week!
Hugs from Portugal,
Ana Love Craft
www.lovecraft2012.blogspot.com
I love you sewed the twill tape in place to thread through a coat!
ReplyDeleteDon't want to lose that hard work while we're out and about;)
DeleteThose are absolutely brilliant. Wish I had those when mine were all little. Thanks for taking the time to put up a tutorial.
ReplyDeleteThese are awesome! I would love to make a pair for myself - do you happen to have a pattern that fits more adult size hands :)
ReplyDeleteI was just saying that my mittens were no longer waterproof and my hands are always cold so these sound delightful.
Thanks for sharing!
Sorry, this is a pattern I created for my kids, so I don't have additional sizes to share. You could probably add an extra 1/2 to the width to one side and extra inch or so to the length of the top and bottom pieces to size them up.
DeleteI was wondering the same thing. My sisters, aunt and myself have neuropathy and our hands get cold so quickly and it's hard to get them warm once they do. Thanks for the sizing info. I'm going to give these a try!
DeleteWhat a wonderful pattern and fun fabric for mittens! I'll be pinning this so I can refer to it later. I've never sewn mittens, but you made it look like fun!
ReplyDeleteThanks Laurie. Mittens are a really fun project - pretty quick and very useful!!
Deletewould you make a pair for my two year old son with the thumbs in? I would pay you for materials, time and shipping!!!!
DeleteI'm sorry I don't make items for hire, just share my patterns & how-to's for others to make them.
DeleteCheryl, these are so cute! Love the fun fabric choices. I need to practice my sewing...lol. Thank you for sharing this at the Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. Hope to see your prettiness again on Monday. Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
ReplyDeleteLove those bambi mittens!!! Thank you for linking it up at the party at http://www.finecraftguild.com. See you back on Wednesday, I hope!
ReplyDeleteSuper cute! Did you use a 1/4" seam allowance? That's what it looks like from the photos, but I couldn't find it in the directions or pattern. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYes that's right. Sorry that wasn't clear - I'm adding it to the post now:)
DeleteSorry for commenting on an old post, but do you think it would work to just make the PUL layer for existing mitts? I have a great pair of down mitts but they aren't wind/water resistant at all. My daughter also has decent fleece mitts but obviously they don't stay dry. Also, is there anything I can stitch/glue on to give more grip in the palms or have you not found this to be a problem? Thanks in advance!
ReplyDeleteProbably, although getting the size for the PUL just right would be hard without taking apart the current mittens. We've never had issues with grip, but you could probably dab a bit of puff paint dots (like some do on the bottoms of socks).
DeleteMade these to my children at 2 and 5 years old. I printed the pattern at 90 % scale. At this scale they are a bit wide and long to my 2 years old, but she can grow with the mittens, and a just fitting/a bit small for my 5 years old.
ReplyDeleteI added 1 cm (3/8") to the width (pinky finger side) and the length (cuff end) of the shell layer (only) otherwise the liner was too big for the shell.
I made the following additions to the step-by-step guide: (1) I fixed the two liner layers together by sewing them together with 3 lengthwise straight stitches. (2) To make it easier to add the fold over elastic to all 3 layers at once and still get a nice finish I sewed the two liner layers together in the cuff end before putting them into the shell layer. I then sewed the two liner layers to the shell layer in the cuff end before adding the fold over elastic. In this way, all three layers are fixed together and are easier to handle when adding the elastic.
Nice modifications and having grow room makes them last a long time.
DeleteCould you please explain which way the reflective side of the insulated lining is placed? towards the inner lining or the outer fabric. Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteThere is no "right side" to the insulated lining. The mylar is needle punched into the material so either side is the same.
DeleteAhh the stuff I got is called insul fleece and has one silver side and one white side...I am assuming the reflective silver side faces in??
ReplyDeleteIt's still punched into the material so no matter what it'll insulate from either side, but having the reflective side face inward couldn't hurt.
DeleteI love your mitten pattern , and my feet get so cold do you have a pattern for socks with the side seam and Mylar insulation .My husband and I hunt and I would love to make a pair of socks so I don't have to wear layers do you have a pattern for these . I sure hope so ; Thank You so much Shelia Minor
ReplyDeleteThanks. I don't actually, but I did use a good slip sock pattern here: http://www.sewcando.com/2012/01/slipper-socks-pattern-review-helpful.html that had adult sizes, which could be used to make something like what you're seeking.
DeleteDo you have a pattern for flannel sock where the seam is on the sides
ReplyDeleteI have 2 Mylar blankets that was given to me and i am wanting to use one of them to put in the flannel socks that i want to make can you give me a pattern for this it sure will help when my husband and i go hunting in about 3 weeks . I sure would love to have a pattern for these . Thank you !!!
ReplyDeleteHello, just asking. Can we machine wash and dry these mittens? I was told that PUL cannot be machine dried. If so, they must be very long to dry? Let me know the proper way to wash these mittens. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI have MANY times and they've been fine. A decade ago item made with PUL (like cloth diapers) were recommended to machine dry on hot, but it was found that over time with heavy repeated washings, the coating could sometimes separate. I personally never had that happen & I've cloth diapered for nearly a decade. In general the fabrics used here don't absorb much water so they tend to dry quickly anyway, but if you machine dry on low you should be fine.
DeleteCould you explain, where exactly to connect the small thumb piece, please?
ReplyDeleteAs shown in assembly photo 3, stitch small thumb piece to the curved section of the palm piece as shown below, with right sides together.
DeleteThank you for sharing this lovely pattern and instructions.
ReplyDeleteI have the pattern but looking for help with instructions.
I'm trying to make mittens without the palm line.
I'm going to try them with fleece or wool.