Winter Rose Mitts - how to

fingerless mitts that I made from a repurposed cashmere sweater and scraps of silk velvet. I like how they turned out but silk and cashmere are hard to hang onto while handsewing…still sooo soft and very warm. Here’s how

1. cut around mitten pattern (I have one that I made - I made samples out of fleece scraps until I got it right, but any sewing mitten pattern will do) instead of pinning the pattern to the fabric try holding it down with soup cans and using a rotary cutter - gives a nice clean edge on knit fabrics.

2.wrong sides together sew outside seam with a straight stitch then ”fell” the seam. Hold the seam allowance down flat and sew it with a straight stitch.

3.Lay flat to embellish - the rose pattern is one I found on a blog called Country Girl Couture. It’s a spider wick (or web) rose. The leaves are scraps of green knit cotton.

4.turn wrong sides together and sew up side seam on the thumb side felling this seam as well

5.sew trim around finger opening

6.wrong sides together sew seam between thumb and fingers - once with straight stitch then again with blanket stitch to reinforce.

The Alabama Stitch Book is my favorite handsewing book. That’s where I got the soup can idea. It’s full of helpful info, very clear, and full of beautiful projects. I machine sew mittens too but this was relaxing and fun and only took a few hours.