Elf Mittens for the Tree

A few years back, my sisters and I started an annual tradition to get together over Thanksgiving weekend to make our Christmas greeting cards. Some years, it's on, some years, the timing just doesn't work out. This year we were in all different directions over the Thanksgiving weekend, so we didn't get together, but I'm still going to include an ornament with my greeting cards from my husband and me to family and friends.

This year, I'm making little sets of elf mittens. Wanna see how?





Start with some quilters freezer paper that you can load right into your inkjet printer. Prints lots of little mittens on each sheet. You can download a pdf of the mitten file here.

Roughly cut apart the mitten shapes and fuse the freezer paper shape (shiny side down) to a small piece of wool.

Cut the wool around the freezer paper shape. I trimmed a little off the sides of the cuff section. I also cut two shapes at once to save time, but cut carefully!

Remove the freezer paper. . .

. . . and pin two layers together.

Using pearl cotton in a color that matches the mitten, sew a blanket stitch by hand around the mitten edge, leaving the end open, then snip the thread. Make two.

Stuff a small amount of scrap batting into each mitten.

Cut two 1" x 1-1/4" rectangles from white wool. Fold the rectangle in half, and pin ends on either side of the mitten at the cuff.

With white pearl cotton, sew a running stitch around each cuff. Make a small knot to finish and bury the end.

 

 Make two.

Cut a 6" length of pearl cotton, and make a quilters knot by wrapping the end of the thread around the needle twice, then pulling the needle through the thread knot to the end. . .

 
. . . to make a knot at the very end of the pearl cotton.

From underneath, pull the needle through the cuff fold near the outer edge of the cuff, and pull the thread until the knot catches on cuff fold.

From above the cuff, put the needle through the cuff fold on the second mitten . . .

. . . give yourself a little slack in the thread, then knot the pearl cotton. . . pull through . . .

. . . and snip close to the knot.

 Mittens!

Repeat! And repeat! And repeat! These mittens are hanging over the edge of a basket until I'm ready to stuff my greeting cards

 

Hang them on the tree for a Christmas elf with cold fingers!

Happy stitching and have a terrific week!
Joan