Sew Sweater Mittens : Easy Step-By-Step Tutorial

Want to know how to turn a sweater into a pair mittens. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to upcycle an old jumper like the #berniemittens This is the same style as Bernie Sanders famous mittens that were also made from an an old sweater. Shop Tova Mittens Pattern https://shop.thelaststitch.com/collections/all-products/products/tova-mittens-sewing-pattern-pdf Tutorial for adding lining to Mittens https://www.thelaststitch.com/sewing-lining-on-mittens/ Tutorial for how to sew a beanie hat using an old sweater: https://www.thelaststitch.com/sew-beanie-hat-recycle-old-sweater 👖Order my latest book Sewing Jeans: The complete step-by-step guide https://www.thelaststitch.com/sewing-jeans-book Transcript instructions Cut the cuffs off the sleeves. Try and see if they fit, you might need to make them tighter, but that’s easy and I’ll show you that in a little bit. Place the pattern pieces on the sweater. If your sweater has a prominent knitting texture or pattern, such as a cable knit, cut the pieces as a single layer to make sure the texture ends up on the same spot on both the left and right pieces. Place the thumb piece to back palm piece. Right sides facing, the wrong side up. You are going along the curved line to attach the thumb to the palm. Set your machine for a narrow zigzag stitch, which means that you reduce the width of the stitch to make it look a bit straighter, but still with some stretch. Stitch along the curve. On very loose knits I recommend stitching two rows, to keep any loops from slipping through, which can be an issue when sewing refashioned knitted garments. Fold the thumb piece in the middle so that the edges meet Stitch the thumb, again using a narrow zigzag stitch. Start at the outer corner, then pivot where the thumb begins and sew all the way around, making sure that the lower layer doesn’t slip. Again I recommend reinforcing this area with a second row if using a loosely knitted sweater. Trim the corner to round out the shape of the thumb. Turn the thumb out. Now it’s starting to look more like a mitten. Next step is to add the upper palm piece. Place the back palm (with the thumb) on top of the front palm piece. Right sides facing. Make sure the thumb is folded towards the middle. Stitch along the outer edges of the entire mitten, using a narrow zigzag stitch or a stretch seam. When you pass the thumb piece, make sure it’s folded away so that it isn’t caught in the seam. Again make sure you catch both layers when sewing, since knits like this can be slippery to sew. Turn the mittens so that the right sides are up. Now we are almost done sewing them mittens. As I told you, it would all make sense, once we got going. Notice the corner underneath the thumb. This is the corner pivot that we did when we attached the thumb. Now it’s time to prepare the cuffs. Try them on the wrist and see if they fit. If they are too big, pin them to mark how much to trim. It also depends on how wide the glove part is of the mittens, the cuffs should be smaller than the opening of the mittens, but not too much. Remove the extra width from the cuffs Stitch the trimmed cuffs together using a narrow zigzag stitch. Pull the cuffs over the opening, with the cut edge aligned with the edge of the glove. Right sides should be facing, with the wrong side up. If you are using a serger for this step, try to increase the differential feed to prevent the pieces from stretching out when sewn, as this is common when working with less stable sweater knits. Sew the cuffs to the mittens using an overlock, stretch seam or a narrow zigzag stitch. Stretch out the cuff when sewn, since it should be smaller than the opening of the glove. 👖Order my latest book Sewing Jeans: The complete step-by-step guide https://www.thelaststitch.com/sewing-jeans-book ✂️ Shop my sewing books and patterns https://shop.thelaststitch.com/ 📘 My book Master the Coverstitch Machine https://www.thelaststitch.com/master-the-coverstitch-book/ 🏃‍♀️ Get my book Sewing Activewear http://www.thelaststitch.com/sewingactivewear ✂️ Shop my favourite sewing tools https://www.amazon.com/shop/thelaststitch Sign up to get a quick guide to the best sewing machine stretch seams http://www.thelaststitch.com/knit-sewing-machine-stitches/ ✂️Find me on the Internet✂️ My blog: http://www.thelaststitch.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/laststitch Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laststitchsew/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.se/thelaststitchsew/