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    Home » DIY Projects

    Updated: Jan 27, 2023 by Jess Coppom ·

    How to Make a Sweater Into Mittens (Free Pattern!)

    17.9K shares

    Free tutorial to make mittens out of a felted sweater (with printable pattern!) Upcycle a thrifted sweater to make this DIY gift idea for Christmas or a winter birthday. | MakeAndDoCrew.com
    Yesterday I told you all about my friend McCall’s snaptastic 365 photo project. I love it because every single day she delivers some new little inspiring tid bit of beauty. I’m amazed by the endless creativity she brings to the project.

    McCall’s mad skillz don’t stop with photography though, she’s also one of the craftiest chics I know. Check out the post about her rad holiday decorations here. Today she’s going to show us how to make pretty much the coolest felted sweater mittens EVER out of, you guessed it, old wool sweaters.

    (And if you can’t get enough sweater recycling like me, make some DIY sweater legwarmer/boot toppers next!)

    Take it away, Caller!

    Hello M&DC fans! I am flattered to be guest-blogging on this fabulous site (Jess- thanks for letting me “drop by”!) This felted sweater mitten project was inspired during a closet clean out session I was having one afternoon and, as I usually do while being productive, I found a distraction – “Hey check out this old 100% wool sweater I found down here that I have not worn in like 3 years! Let’s shrink it!” The red snowflake pattern screamed mittens to me, so away I went, leaving my closet spilling out all over the place. These mittens are a breeze to whip up and if you have a stash of old sweaters, they’re also basically free! Happy Mitting!

    Felted Sweater Mittens Supplies

    -felted sweater mitten pattern (Simply enter your email in the box at the bottom of this tutorial to gain instant access to this mitten pattern, plus all our other past and future freebies!)
    -a 100% wool sweater
    -a t-shirt (or similar soft fabric for lining)
    -sewing machine (or your ambitious hands!)
    -pins
    -1-2 yards of wool yarn and a large darning needle

    Instructions

    1. Clean out your closet and find one or more old wool sweaters and an old T-shirt (or something soft to use as lining).

    2. Felt old wool sweater(s) by putting each in a separate pillowcase and washing them in the washing machine on HOT. (Yes, exactly what you’re usually trying not to do.) Felting isn’t an exact science, so check them frequently. Get more details about how to felt sweaters here.

    3. Cut 4.5 inches off both sweater sleeves for the cuffs. Set these aside for later.
    Note: Your felted sleeves need to be about the same width as the mitten template, if your sleeves shrunk too much, you can use the bottom hem of the sweater by cutting a rectangle about 4.5 inches x 10 inches and sewing the short ends together to make a tube with a 10 inch circumference and 4.5 inch height.

    mitts-8
    4. Print out the felted sweater mitten pattern and cut it on the outermost line. (Later you’ll trim to the inside line and use the resulting pattern for the inside of the mitts.)

    5. Pin template pieces to felted sweater(s) and cut out each piece, cutting 2 of the mitten backs.

    6. Starting with the two palm pieces for either the right or left mitten, line up the thumbs with the right sides together (wrong sides on the outside). Starting on straight edge, pin around the edge of the thumb and down the side.

    7. In order to mark how far down the side to pin, it is helpful to match up the palm pieces with the top piece. Line up the base and the top curve of the mitten and pinch the outside edge of thumb together until all excess the height of the palm piece matches the height of the mitten back.

    8. Sew from marked point, around the thumb to the other edge of mitten, with ¼ inch seam allowance.

    Wanna save this pattern?

    We'll email you this so you can come back to it later!

    9. Match up palm piece with mitten back, right sides together.

    10. Line up and pin the edges. (It can be helpful to pin the thumbs out of the way, too!) Sew the edges with ¼ inch seam allowance.

    mitts-9
    11. Repeat steps 6-10 for the opposite hand mitten. Turn mittens right-side out.

    mitts-11
    11. Trim off the outer ½ inch of the paper templates you used for the outside, leaving just the lining portion.

    12. Cut each template piece out of the lining fabric.13. Follow steps 6-10 with the lining fabric.

    mitts-17
    14. Put the lining on your hand (still right-side in) and slide the outside of the mitten over the lining. Wiggle your thumb and fingers to adjust the lining and tack into place.

    15. Trim the mitten liner so it’s the same length as the outer mitten.16. Take the 4.5 inch long tube from the sleeve and turn it inside out. Slide the raw end (the end that you cut) about an inch into the mitten, inside both the lining and the sweater layer.

    17. With a piece of yarn and darning needle, starting at one of the side seams, sew through all three layers, leaving a tail of yarn where you started. Sew around the mitten base two times, securely fastening the cuff to the inside of the mitten.

    mitts-21
    18. On the third time around, when you get to the inside of the wrist, flip the cuff up and around the outside of the mitten. Sew through all four layers in order to tack the cuff into place.

    19. Continue to sew, only the inside three layers (not going all of the way through the outside cuff layer) until you get to the back of the wrist. Sew all of the way through all four layers, tacking the cuff in place and add a button or two if desired.

    mitts-25
    20. Continue to sew only the inside three layers around back to the seam where you left a tail of yarn. Tie off the yarn and trim short. Tuck tails into the cuff.

    21. Sip hot chocolate and enjoy the winter!

    Make a felted sweater into a pair of mittens. Tutorial includes printable pattern! | MakeAndDoCrew.com

    And if you’re into adorable kids’ winter-wear, you might also like these free patterns:
    Aspen Socialite Crochet Headband
    Frosty the Snowman Hat
    Just Like Mommy Knit Cowl
    Santa’s Helper Crochet Elf Hat (With Ears!)

    RELATED: Our Complete Guide to Temperature Blankets

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    17.9K shares

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Carol says

      February 28, 2017 at 3:02 pm

      I have entered my name and email address to receive access to the pattern – and I get a message that I will get an e-mail soon…. but isn’t happening…. I have a second e-mail – gmail account – will try that one…….

      Reply
      • Jess @ Make and Do Crew says

        March 01, 2017 at 10:18 pm

        Hmm. I wonder if it got stuck in the spam folder? Have you tried searching your inbox for “Make and Do Crew”? Sometimes my emails can get tucked away into the cracks of subscribers’ inboxes. 🙂

        Reply
    2. Roberta Cotton says

      February 04, 2017 at 6:33 pm

      I am trying to make mittens for a mission. Too much cold out there and too many people that are cold. Going to rummage sales and thrift stores to get my project on track. Need a large mans pattern because what I’ve made so far are too small for a large man’s hands. Thanks for the pattern!

      Reply
      • Jess @ Make and Do Crew says

        February 08, 2017 at 10:47 pm

        How wonderful of you, Roberta! If you need to, you can always enlarge this pattern on a copier or print it a bit bigger if you need to for larger hands!

        Reply
    3. Susan says

      January 18, 2017 at 12:48 pm

      Please send me the written pattern and instructions

      Thanks!

      Reply
      • Jess @ Make and Do Crew says

        January 18, 2017 at 9:41 pm

        Hey Susan,

        The written pattern is above within the blog post. If you’d like the template, you can pop your email address into the subscription box above and you’ll receive an email with download instructions. 🙂

        Reply
    4. crussell says

      January 13, 2017 at 10:38 am

      Could I please get the pattern for making your mittens from old sweaters.

      Thank You

      Reply
      • Jess @ Make and Do Crew says

        January 18, 2017 at 9:17 pm

        If you subscribe in the box above, you’ll receive an email with download instructions.

        Happy mitten making!

        Reply
    5. Mary Horne says

      January 04, 2017 at 9:40 pm

      I enjoyed watching your tutorial on sweater mitts and was hoping to get a copy of your pattern and directions . Thank you , Mary

      Reply
      • Jess @ Make and Do Crew says

        January 18, 2017 at 8:50 pm

        Hey Mary,

        If you enter your email address in the box above this comment area, you’ll receive download instructions for the mitten template!

        Reply
    6. Sherry says

      December 29, 2016 at 1:06 pm

      Can’t wait to receive my pattern to get started. Thanks.

      Reply
      • Jess @ Make and Do Crew says

        December 29, 2016 at 3:28 pm

        Hey Sherry,

        If you subscribed using your email address in the box above this comment area, you should have received an email from me with download instructions. If you haven’t gotten that email, check your junk or spam folders!

        Reply
    7. Nora says

      December 18, 2016 at 10:06 pm

      Templates downloaded fine but not the instructions. Would you please email them to me?

      Reply
      • Jess @ Make and Do Crew says

        December 19, 2016 at 3:40 pm

        The instructions are in the blog post! 🙂 (Which is right above this comment area.)

        Reply
    8. claudia says

      December 15, 2016 at 9:50 am

      Love the look of these mittens!

      Reply
    9. Lori Moore says

      December 14, 2016 at 8:37 pm

      I would like the pattern for the wool sweater mittens. Thank you for sharing!

      Reply
      • Jess @ Make and Do Crew says

        December 29, 2016 at 4:09 pm

        Hey Lori,

        If you subscribe in the box above this comment area, you’ll receive an email with download instructions for the free pattern!

        Reply
    10. Shelly says

      December 07, 2016 at 11:24 am

      Can’t wait to make mittens

      Reply
    11. Sandi Young says

      December 06, 2016 at 8:03 pm

      Hope this work because I really would like to make these mitten for a donation.

      Reply
    12. Kristine Revak says

      November 26, 2016 at 9:40 am

      I am so excited to try making mittens from old sweaters.

      Reply
      • Jess @ Make and Do Crew says

        November 26, 2016 at 3:55 pm

        Yay! I hope you enjoy them! I’m actually working on a new pattern using a felted sweater right now. Sweater recycling is just so fun, isn’t it!?

        Reply
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    Hi, I'm Jess! My mom taught me to crochet when I was 8-years-old. Now I work alongside my mom and sisters to bring you free patterns + tutorials that make crochet modern, approachable and fun!

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