Shrunken cardigan part 2: warm winter mittens

After my small, woollen cushion project, the remainder of my cardigan, still too small to consider wearing even as a tiny shrug, consisted of just the shoulders and sleeves:

Having seen a wrist-warmer project using the cuffs of an old jumper elsewhere a few years ago, I decided to attempt to make a pair of mittens, similarly using just the sleeves of the cardigan:

 

All I did was:

Cut off as much of the sleeves as needed to make the mittens, using the cuff as the part that will go around the wrist/arm/elbow (you can obviously make the mittens as long or as short as you like):

I then turned the sleeves inside out and measured a basic hand/mitten shape on the sleeve from the cuffs upwards, and marked it with either a few pins, or some fabric chalk, before cutting out the mittens and pinning the finger ends together:

I checked that the mittens and finger sections fitted on my hands before using a sturdy blanket or back stitch (see here for different types of stitching) to sew the finger part of each mitten together:

And finally, a pair of mittens ready to keep out the winter cold!

Feel free to add embellishments in the form of buttons, ribbons and bows to jazz up your pair!

Shrunken cardigan part 1: cosy cushon cover

It has taken me a good few months to realise that no matter what setting you put our washing machine on, and no matter what temperature, it will do something completely different once the clothes are in it and spinning around - it has a mind of it's own. So, although immediately disgruntled, I soon got over the fact that a few weeks ago, one of my favourite woollen cardigans came out of the washing machine 10 times smaller than when it went in, and barely big enough for a barbie. It was bound to happen one day.

But, as they say, every cloud has a silver lining of unravelling woollen thread, so to make the most of my shrunken winter cardi, I decided to transform it into a mini cushion cover, with built in buttons!

To rectify the same sad situation if you happen to experience a washing machine disaster, or even if you fancy purposefully cooking an old piece of knitware in the machine, you will need:

• a woollen cardigan or jumper
• needle, pins and thread
• a cushion (the size depends on the size of your shrunken item)

1. After your jumper/cardigan has been suitably resized in the washing machine in a 60 degree spin, trim off the sleeves, shoulders and neck in one go, until the body left is the correct size for your cushion.

2. Turn the item inside out and pin along the top and bottom edges, then sew along these sides, either by hand or with a sewing machine, and if you need too, sew along the two sides to ensure it fits the cushion snugly.

3. Turn the cover back round the right way, and voila, it is complete!