M is for Mittens

Today has been a long day. Tomorrow promises to be even longer. But by darn...this post will still make it pretty close to the expected posting time. 

Today marks the halfway point. It's letter M...which means we are officially halfway through the alphabet and halfway through the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. How are you doing bloggers? Everyone still hanging in?

Today's project is Fleece Baby Mittens. These are super cute and nice and soft. They're sized to fit anywhere from newborn(ish) to just under two years. Though...if you can keep mittens on a two-year-old you are doing much better than I am. 

They're secured via elastic and don't have a thumb, so getting them on is a little easier than some. They will take a little bit more work than some of the other projects I've been showing for the A to Z, but with a little patience the skills really aren't that difficult to learn. 

Ready to tackle this one? You can do this!

To make your mittens you'll need fabric and elastic. You can use the same fabric inside and out if you want to or you can use two different fabrics like I did. You'll see three fabrics above, but that's only because I made a green set and a blue set. I used the white fleece as the lining fabric for both.

Start by cutting out 4: x 5" rectangles of you fabrics. You'll need two outside pieces and two lining pieces for each mitten. This means a total of eight pieces for a pair of mittens. Yes...I'm aware that it seems like a lot.

I drew myself a little pattern, but really you could free hand this if you're able to cut a pretty consistent curve across the top of your fabric.

You just have to cut your tops from your rectangles and you're ready to sew. (See the cute blue ones? It's such a super soft fabric too.)

To make your outside, put two right sides together and sew around the edges, leaving the bottom open.

Next up, grab two of your lining pieces. This one you're not going to sew all the way around. You'll see why in just a second. Sew up one side and about 2/3 of the way down the other. Leave a small gap and then stitch the rest of the side. (My gap was about 1/2 - 3/4" long.)

I'm missing the photo of this but... Don't turn your two pieces right side out. Leave them how they are after stitching and slide your outside piece (the green) into your inside piece (the white) so that the two right sides (the ones you want exposed to the inside and outside of the mitten when you're all done) are facing one another.

I realize that this was quite possibly the worst picture to forget to take. I am so sorry. Hopefully you can decipher what I'm trying to tell you.

Stitch around the edge. (Don't stitch your whole darned mitten shut. Yes...I was totally sleep sewing on the first go round and sewed it shut. Don't judge.)

This is where your little gap comes in. You're going to pull both the outside and the lining through this hole so that both pieces are right side out, like above. Then tuck your lining back inside the outside. You know...so it looks like a mitten.

This is where we head into horrible picture 101. If you look super closely you can see the small little opening in the fleece at the inside vertical seam. That's your gap from earlier. You're going to leave that open, but stitch yourself a channel for your elastic almost all the way around the edge of your mitten.

This is also where you may attempt to sew your finger into the mitten. I'm just saying...it might happen.

You can see that I've left open just a little before and a little after the gap. If you close this, your elastic will have nowhere to go.

For the next few steps, it's easiest to turn your mitten inside out. Attach a safety pin to your elastic and thread it through your channel.

Tada! Popped out the other end. Pull your elastic so that the edges are about even.

Safety pin the two ends of your elastic together and stitch across the tops. Once the elastic is one continuous piece, remove the safety pin and tuck the ends up into your channel. Stitch your holes closed.

Flip them back right side out again and you have yourself a cutesie set of mittens. They are nice and cozy so they can be used either just to keep the kiddo from scratching their face or for when it's a chilly outside and their little hands need covered from the cold.

This fabric is seriously so soft...I'm considering upping the size, adding a thumb, and making a pair for myself. We'll see if I actually make that happen, but it is SUPER tempting.

Another letter down! Tomorrow is going to be a bit of a challenge since the project isn't done. To be honest, I'm about ready to ditch one project in favor of another, so N might be a bit of a surprise even to me. We'll see how it goes. Fingers crossed. Until then...have a great Wednesday!!


Miss any of my A to Z posts so far this year? Find them below...

1. A is for Anna (Easy Anna Cape)
2. B is for Bath (Appliqued Bath Mat)
3. C is for Child (Children's Growth Ruler)
4. D is for Denim (Denim Bib)
5. E is for Etch (Etched Casserole Dishes)
6. F is for Felt (Felt Hopscotch Mat)
7. G is for Good Night ("Good Night" Envelope Pillows)
8. H is for Hood (Easy Hooded Towel)
9. I is for Insulated (Insulated Beverage Cozies)
10. J is for Jumper (Embroidered Spring Jumper)
11. K is for Know (Know When to Hold 'Em/Fold 'Em Laundry Sign)
12. L is for Loveseat (Envelope Loveseat Pillows)

Are you visiting from A to Z? 

Be sure to leave me a comment (including your blog link) so I can come over and return the favor!