Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Free Felted Oven Mitt Pattern!



Felted Oven Mitts
Using old Wool Sweater ~ by Kriskrafter


Materials:
100% Wool Sweater(s)
Matching thread
Pins
Sewing Machine
Ribbed cuff (optional)
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These are super simple to make and people love receiving them as gifts, they also make fabulous Craft Show sellers.
First Cut out the provided pattern pieces A & B, and tape them together as indicated.
Next, lay your sweater out smoothly and cut out 4 of the Mitt pattern. If you want the oven mitts to be multiple color then use more than one sweater. Just make sure that the sweaters are similar in their thickness and stitch count so that they will felt similarly. I like to use sweaters that are between 4 – 7 stitches per inch. If the sweater is too tightly knit it will not felt very well, if it is knit too loose it is hard to cut out and keep the stitches from unraveling.
The way this pattern works is that 2 pcs will be the back of the hand, 2 pcs will be the front of the hand. I use 2 layers for each so that it felts up nice and thick and offers plenty of protection when pulling out hot items from the oven. Arrange your layers the way you want them to be with the inside 2 pcs being your “right” sides.
Sew all 4 thicknesses together with a ¼” seam. Check your seam after you’ve sewn it to make sure you’ve stitched through all 4 layers. Now stitch all the way around the bottom of the mitten so that you stitch the open ends together.
Throw in the washing machine to felt. I use my top-loader washing machine, set for a regular cycle. When it begins to agitate I stand over it and watch. I keep pulling the oven mitt out to check it and re-set my washer to agitate more if I need it. Mine usually needs 3 agitation cycles to felt it but every washer is different. When you have the Oven Mitt felted to the size you want, remove the mitt from the washer (DO NOT let the oven mitt run through the remainder part of the wash cycle), squeeze out the excess water, roll in a towel to blot out extra water then shape it and let it air dry.
Cuff: Sew on a ribbed cuff of your choice. I like to use the ribbing that was on the sweater (un-felted), as it matches nicely.
Extra decoration: If you want to dress it up a bit and perhaps embroider some flowers or other designs, make sure you use only wool or cotton yarns/threads as these will be heat resistant. Synthetics of any kind will melt.
Enjoy!

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9 comments:

kasasu said...

What a great idea! Can't wait to try this!

Anonymous said...

The pattern as clicked on is bigger, but still only the size of my hand - not oversized to allow for felting. Should each piece when printed out be as large as a piece of paper?

kriskrafter said...

Dear anonymous,
For some reason this pattern prints out fine at 100% for SOME people but not for others (like yourself). Simply take your this pattern or your favorite oven mitt and cut it out approx. 1" larger all the way around - this leaves room for the wool to felt back down to the appropriate size.

Anonymous said...

Are these machine washable after use? They wont shrink anymore?
Any tips?

kriskrafter said...

Because they are wool they would have to be hand washed in cool water and air dryed - just like any wool item.

Anonymous said...

That makes sense.. duh :)
By the way.. .LOVE the pic of your little puppy! SO CUTE!

Thanks for sharing your crafts!

Terri said...

These look fantastic and would help me a lot in the process of withdrawal as I reduce my recycled sweater stash!

Are the pattern pieces still available? I couldn't find them. Thanks!

Terri said...

I read through your other posts and I found the pattern pics. Thanks again!

Best Oven Mitts said...

thanks for sharing such a nice blog.