Toasty mittens from an upcycled wool jumper

Making felt from old jumpers

Felted wool (also known as “boiled wool”) is wonderfully thick and warm, as well as pretty waterproof making it perfect for toasty winter mittens.  It doesn’t fray so it is an easy fabric to work with.

Start with an adult sized jumper that is made from at least 80% wool.  If it has a lower wool content then it won’t shrink in the wash (something to do with science, apparently).  It’s OK if there are some small holes as these will also shrink in the wash and won’t be noticeable.

To get them to felt, you need to machine wash them on the hottest temperature and longest setting using washing powder.  You may need to wash and dry a couple of times in order to get them to felt fully.  The better you agitate/beat up the wool, the more it will shrink.  One website says to use tennis balls in the washing machine but that would probably be quite noisy and possibly damaging to your machine.  You can use a tumble dryer for further shrinkage or simply air dry.

Mitten template

Draw your own template by drawing around your hand “in mitten position” (i.e. fingers together, thumb sticking out) and part way up your wrist.  Smooth out the shape and then add a 1cm seam allowance (except for around the top of the cuff).  Or you could look for a free template online if you’re feeling nervous.

Instructions

Pin on the paper templates so that the waistband of your felted jumper becomes the cuffs of your mittens.

Cut around the templates.  You will need four pieces.

Place two pieces together (wrong side to wrong side).  Use a needle and thread to sew the pieces together using a whip stitch.  The stitches need to be relatively close together so that your fingers don’t poke out.  When finished turn inside out.

Repeat for the other mitten.