A Quick Mitten Lining Lesson - It's easier than you think.

Hey guys! Welcome to week 2 of January! How's everyone's resolutions holding up?  I can honestly say that my will power is fading guys.  First goal of the year - don't take on too much - is mostly just a guilty false promise that I made to myself.  Just the other day a friend of mine, who's planning her wedding, sent me a message saying, "wanted to solicit your creativity... I know you would have some good ideas."  To which I responded, "I feel like you just made my life.  Let's get this Pinterest board started!" Nevermind that, while sitting in a workshop today, I took a few minutes to plan my school schedule until the end of summer.  I promised myself I would not take on more than two classes this semester but I'm legitimately sitting here thinking to myself, "whats the difference between two and three really?"  I guess the fact that I dragged myself out of my super comfortable bed at 7 am to travel in -30 weather all the into downtown Toronto on a Saturday is a testament to how much fun I'm having so can I even complain at this point?

Anyway, all of this is getting away from the topic of the day: Mitten lining! I've done it a few times now and I love the way it feels to add just that little bit of extra warmth to you favourite hand knit mittens.  It's like taking your bed with you when you have to leave the house on a cold winter morning.  Now, FULL DISCLOSURE: while I used to be a reasonable seamstress, it has definitely been some time since those days.  Now days I'm pretty content with a straight line. 

Here's what you're going to need to get this done: 

1) your favourite handmade mittens 

2) a half metre of flannel or fleece  

3) pins

4) scissors

5) washable marker/chalk - Make sure whatever you use is washable in case it gets on your mitten while tracing. I used a white eye liner which was an ill judged purchase from way back when.  I don't know where I was planning on wearing white eye liner to. 

6) needle and thread

7) sewing machine - unless you're planning on hand sewing the whole thing

Step 1 - Once you've collected all of your materials, fold your fleece in half with the RIGHT SIDE facing each other, and lay your fleece on a flat surface. We'll be working on the WRONG SIDE of the fabric.  Trace the shape of your mittens on the fabric and be sure to leave at least one centimetre of space right around your mitten.

Step 2 - Place your mittens to the side for now.  We'll get back to those in a bit.  Secure your fabric with pins paying particular attention to the corners, the tip of your mitten and thumb.  

 

Step 3 - Cut your mitten out.  CAREFUL!!  Make sure you leave one centimetre of room around that mitten!!  I say this from experience. You don't need to leave extra space at the edge of the cuff.

 

Step 4 - Seam your mitten together but give yourself extra room around the wrist so that your whole hand can get into it.  If you look closely below, you'll see that I deviated from the white line by at least half a centimetre on both sides. Other than this, try to seam as close as possible to your outline, particularly at the thumb.

Step 5 - Before you trim the excess fabric from around your mitten, pull out the pins and try it on.  Make sure your hand can actually get into it. Again, I speak from experience.  Stick your hand, with the lining, into your mitten to make sure your thumb fits nicely into it, particularly at the purlicue (the space at the base of your thumb and index finger). It doesn't have to feel perfect because you do have some extra fabric that we're going to trim off.  If you're satisfied, pull the lining out and trim your excess fabric off.  I've left about two millimetres around my seam on all sides.

Step 6 - Now you're ready to stick your lining back in.  Once you've done that, it's time to seam the cuff.  Make sure the lining lies just on the inside of the cuff.  If you have a little excess fabric, either scooch it in or trim it off.  With a needle and thread, gently whip stitch the two together.  As you see below, I stitched the lining using the bumps on the inside of my cast on edge.  Be careful to make sure you're evenly spacing the fabric of the lining against the cuff.  The easiest way to do this is to make sure that the two seams of your lining are lined up with the two sides of your mitten.  

There you have it.  I found this piece of fleece in a remnant bin at Fabricland. I've now used it twice to line mittens and I have tons left.  You don't need a super thick fleece because it is going into a mitten and you are working with limited room.  I knew I was going to line these mittens when I knit them so I knitted a size larger than I needed just for the extra space.  They fit like a dream.  If I didn't love the lady these are going to be gifted too, I'd be very tempted to keep them for myself.  Come to think of it, I'm the only one out of all of my favourite ladies that doesn't have a pair of lined mittens.  That will need to be rectified shortly.  As always, if you guys have any questions, leave a message and we will try to help.

That's it for me for this week.  Enjoy those lined mittens.  Post your pictures on social media and tag us in them!  We'd love to see your work.  Until we speak again, PEACE to you and your fam!  XOXO