With polar fleece and other warm fabrics available in a wide variety of patterns and colors, all you need are some quality mitten sewing patterns to create cozy mittens for the whole family. Use these patterns to make wonderful gifts for kids, friends, and even for yourself! If you need help downloading the patterns, check out these helpful tips.
Women's Button-Cuff Mitten Pattern
This simple pattern is perfect for new seamstresses, and it allows for plenty of variation with fabric choices and embellishments. Get creative and make some mittens that really show off your personality. Expect this project to take a couple of hours.
Things You'll Need
- Half a yard of polar fleece fabric
- Matching thread
- Four fun buttons
- Scissors, pinking shears, tape measure, hand sewing needle, and pins
- Sewing machine
What to Do
- Begin by printing the free mitten pattern. This pattern is designed for a woman with medium-sized hands. If it seems too small or too large for you, use a copy machine to change the size accordingly. Cut out the pattern.
- Spread out the fleece fabric, and pin the pattern pieces to it. Cut them out. Remember to reverse the pattern pieces for the opposite hand.
- Placing the right sides of the mitten back and mitten thumb together, match up and sew Seam A, leaving a quarter-inch seam allowance.
- Fold down the thumb on the mitten palm piece. Pin the thumb of the palm piece to the thumb piece, and sew the seam with a quarter-inch allowance.
- Pin the cuff seams and the long seam that goes around the fingers. Sew these seams to finish assembling the mitten.
- When the mitten is completely assembled, use the pinking shears to pink the bottom edge of the cuff.
- Turn the mitten right side out, and fold the cuff up. Hand sew two buttons on the cuff for decoration.
- Repeat with the other mitten.
Pattern for Men's Mitten with Elastic Cuff
Looking for a great pattern to keep a guy's hands warm? Try this easy design. The pattern is sized to fit an average man, but if you're making it for a guy with larger or smaller hands, you can resize it on the copy machine. This project will take one to two hours.
Things You'll Need
- Half a yard of fleece fabric
- Matching thread
- Half a yard of quarter-inch elastic
- Scissors, tape measure, safety pin, hand sewing needle, and pins
- Sewing machine
What to Do
- Print the pattern for the mitten, and cut it out.
- Pin the pattern pieces to the fabric, taking care to reverse the pieces for the opposite hand. Cut out the fabric.
- Match up Seam A on the mitten back and the thumb with the right sides of the fabric together. Sew Seam A, allowing a quarter inch for the seam.
- On the palm piece, fold down the thumb. With right sides together, match up the thumb pieces and pin in place. Sew, leaving a quarter-inch seam allowance.
- Pin the long seam that goes around the fingers of the mitten, as well as the remaining cuff seams. Sew with a quarter-inch allowance.
- Fold over the raw edge of the cuff a quarter inch, and sew in place. Turn the cuff up at the fold line, and sew a casing for the elastic, leave an inch to insert the elastic.
- Use a safety pin to thread the elastic through the casing. Adjust so it is comfortable on the wrist, and then sew the ends of the elastic together. Hand sew the casing closed.
- Repeat with the other mitten.
Child's Funny Face Mitten
This cute child's mitten can be sized for any hand, and it adds a dose of cute humor to your little one's outerwear. Making these mittens will take one to two hours.
Things You'll Need
- Half a yard of fleece fabric
- Two pieces of craft felt in desired colors, one for the eyes and one for the tongue
- Black embroidery floss and embroidery needle
- Half a yard of quarter-inch-wide elastic
- Scissors, tape measure, safety pin, hand sewing needle, and pins
- Sewing machine
What to Do
- Measure your child's hand from the wrist to the tip of the longest finger. Add two inches to the measurement, and then enlarge the pattern accordingly.
- Print the pattern, and cut it out. Pin the pattern to the fabric, and cut out the pieces for the mitten. Reverse the pattern pieces to cut the mitten for the opposite hand.
- Arrange the eye pieces on the back piece of each mitten, and secure with pins. Then use embroidery floss to attach them to the mitten by sewing a pupil in the center of each. Feel free to make the eyes looking in one direction or cross-eyed.
- Next, match up Seam A on the mitten back piece and the thumb piece, making sure the right sides of the fabric are together. Pin and sew Seam A, leaving a quarter-inch seam allowance.
- Fold down the thumb on the palm piece and pin it to the thumb piece. Leaving a quarter-inch seam allowance, sew around the thumb.
- Pin the cuffs and hand portion of the mitten. Before sewing around the hand, insert the tongue into the tip of the fingers between the layers of fabric. Sew around the hand and cuffs.
- Turn over the raw edge of the cuffs by a quarter of an inch. Sew in place. Turn up the cuff at the fold line, and sew in place, leaving a one-inch opening to insert the elastic.
- Using a safety pin, insert the elastic into the casing. Adjust to get a comfortable fit, and then sew the elastic in place. Hand sew the casing closed.
- Turn the mitten right side out. Use embroidery floss to make nostrils between the eyes and tongue of the finished mitten.
- Repeat to create the other mitten.
Tips for Choosing Mitten Fabric
Because mittens are designed to keep your hands warm, they should be made out of cozy fabrics. These patterns are designed for fleece, but you can use them with other materials as well. Keep the following in mind as you browse at the fabric store:
- Your fabric choice will depend on how the mittens will be used. If you'll be washing your mittens frequently, choose an easy-care fabric.
- Fleece fabric is a great choice for homemade mittens. In addition to being warm and soft. It's incredibly easy to work with. The raw ends of the fabric do not unravel, and it's not slippery. If you get really enthusiastic, you can even make a fleece hat to match!
- If you're looking for something that feels stylish but still keeps your hands warm, velvet may be an excellent choice. Use velvet for mittens you don't plan to machine wash.
- Believe it or not, you don't need to buy new fabric for your mittens. You can take a trip to Goodwill or even peruse your own closet for old sweaters. You can reuse this fabric for mittens! When using an old sweater for mittens, you'll need to use a little extra care with cutting. Before you cut the fabric, use a fabric pencil to draw a guideline. Then use your sewing machine to sew just inside the line. This will help reinforce the fabric and prevent it from unraveling.
To add extra flair to your mittens, you can embellish them with fun fabric accents, ribbon, yarn, and even lace. You can also use decorative machine stitching to add even more style. Don't forget to add fun mitten clips or a mitten cord too.
Warm Winter Hands
Mittens are an easy and cheap craft you can make in a single afternoon. They make excellent gifts, and are also a fun project to do with the kids. Regardless of which mitten sewing pattern you use, you'll be proud of your creation, and your hands will be warm this winter.
