How to make Lined, Insulated Oven Mitts

Making oven mitts is pretty darn easy, and it's a good way to ensure you have some cute ones in your kitchen! As you can see from this picture, my old pink one was looking pretty sad. I've even caught it on fire a couple times. But an old oven mitt that fits well is the best place to start when cutting out a new one.

1. Lay your old oven mitt on your fabric and cut around it (making two pieces), remembering to allow for your seam.

2. Use this as the template to cut out your lining fabric (cut two).

 3. Now use your cut out fabric to cut out your insulation. I used a product called "Insul-Bright" that is designed with a shiny layer to reflect heat, as well as a couple layers of cotton batting for extra insulation.

 4. Sandwich each half of your oven mitt with the batting you cut out, and quilt your fabric to it. My picture here shows that I quilted my mitts by top-stitching around the various shapes in the fabric's design.  Once they are quilted you should have two opposite halves like in this picture.


5. Put the two layers together (right-sides together) and stitch around the them, leaving the wrist edge open. Trim edges and clip curves. Do the same thing with your lining pieces.

6. Turn your lining right-side-out and insert it into your quilted mitt (which should be inside-out) as in the picture.

 7. Stitch the lining to the mitt around the wrist perimeter, leaving a small gap to turn it right-side-out.

 8. Turn your mitt out and top-stitch around the wrist, closing the gap you turned it through. Yay! I made a dinosaur one for my nerdy husband too.

Queen Bee Apron!

 I know I haven't posted in a long time, but that doesn't mean I haven't been crafting away. After making tons of projects for Christmas, including a quilt(!), I've gotten back to apron work. This is an entirely new concept for me--not really a specific character, but an abstract idea of "Queen Bee." The owner of this apron wisely suggested thick stripes, so I actually pieced the fabric together using French seams. She also liked the sash on the Phoenix apron, which really did add some royal flair to this bee, with a nice rich purple. It wraps around the back and actually ties on the hip. I used the same purple for the straps and to line the inside of the matching oven mitts.

 The crown applique on the chest is lined in the back with black to give it a little definition against the yellow stripe. I debated putting a black stripe on top, but that made the apron's bottom stripe yellow and for whatever reason, it needed a black stripe on the bottom to "ground" it. My OCD demanded this be so. There are two pockets on the skirt that are camoflauged. The sash itself can be functional for carrying items, or drying hands on since the entire thing is 100% cotton and machine washable, and although super cute, is allowed to get messy.

 Oven Mitts! These things are fantastic. They are lined on the palm side with "Insul-Bright", which is a batting that has a shiny layer in it that reflects heat, and have regular cotton batting on both sides, making them heat resistant, and I'll be honest, really cozy. I plan on wearing mine around the house to keep my poorly circulated fingers warm. These mitts were pieced together black and yellow and quilted along the stripes, and then lined with matching purple.

Here's my original sketch ideas. I thought wings on the back would be cool, although not particularly practical. I'm such a good artist, no?...

The Purple Tuxedo Chef Apron

This is the first apron I've done with a faux tuxedo style. The colors were selected via a custom request and I think the finished product is really fun! The apron has a lapel with a flower, as well as a faux shirt front with buttons and a faux vest, also with a matching button. All of this is topped off with a large comical green bow tie. The neckstraps and waist ties are green to contrast with the purple. The "jacket" has tails that hang loosely in the back, which I really love. Since this apron has a clownish appearance, I put a picture of my other clownish apron below, which I am calling "the Court-Jester." That one is just for the ladies :-) (and don't make fun of my pajamas...I couldn't put the project down and it was late and that is really how my hair looks most of the time!)

Crochet Hook Storage Problem--Make a Roll!

I recently accepted that I had a crochet hook problem. I kept losing them and was tired of trying to keep them organized. If you have the same problem with knitting needles or paintbrushes or anything else long and skinny, this crochet-hook-roll tutorial would work well for those too! See the finished product all rolled up below.

1. Cut out two rectangles (a front and back) wide enough on the short sides for all your hooks. I put two pockets on mine, one on top of the other, so this kept it from getting too wide. The height should be about 150 - 175% of the length of your tallest hook. (Mine is approx. 16" x 13.5") Cut out your pockets, the same width as your rectangle. The height of your back pocket should come up about 3/4 the length of your longer hooks (keep in mind you will hem the top and need seam allowance on the bottom, mine was 5.5") and the smaller top pocket about 1/2 the length of your shorter hooks (mine was 3"), if you want to add this pocket at all. You will also need a strap to tie your roll together once it's finished.

2. Hem the tops of both pockets, then use your hooks to figure out how wide you want your slots to be on the smaller pocket (approx. 1") and pin there. Sew the top pocket on to the back pocket along these lines.   The plaid helped me keep my lines really straight.

3. Place the joined pockets onto your larger rectangle front, lining up the bottoms. (Ignore the excess plaid at the bottom because I decided my back pocket was too tall, 5.5" is what I cut it too). Sew down the same lines you sewed for the short pocket to attach the back pocket. In some places I skipped a line to make some bigger slots in the back pocket (2") for my big crochet hooks. I also left space at the ends, as shown in this picture by the folded back piece, for bigger things like rulers or scissors.

4. Make a strap or find an existing strap to tie your crochet hook roll together and attach it on the lower left-hand side of the large rectangle back piece. The exact measurements for where to put this depend on how large the roll is, but about 4" in from the long side and 4" up from the bottom worked for me. My strap is just under 2' long, but if you want to tie a bow, you'll need to make it longer.

 5. Place your back rectangle onto your front rectangle, right sides together, lining up edges and making sure your strap is tucked inside so you won't sew over it. Sew around the edges leaving a 3" gap on one side to turn it out.

 6. Top stitch around the edges to close the gap and make it look nice and neat. Now you can put your hooks in it!

 7. If you were wondering why it was so tall, that's so you can fold over the top before you roll it up. This keeps your hooks from falling out if you turn it upside down or throw it in a bag when crafting on the go!

 8. Roll it up and tie it! Now you have a cute, functional way to keep track of your crochet hooks!

How to Make a Fleece Viking Hat

 So you want to make a Fleece Viking Hat for your little barbarians? I posted an entry about doing this a year ago, but I never really showed how I did it, so here's my best attempt at doing so.  All images can be seen larger by clicking on them.

First, make a hat dome!!! This tutorial is using the dome top of a basic fleece hat. I wrote a tutorial on how to make it here. This pattern does something different with the hat band though.

1. The Hat Band and Center Strip: Cut out a band the circumference of your child's head by 4", and a matching strip that is the length of your hat from the back center to the front center (going up over the crown of the head) by 2". Also cut out a total of 9 (or however many you want) 1.5" circles that will become the rivets on your hat. The number of circles really doesn't matter. If you want one in the center front, make sure to line one up in the dead center of your hat band.

2. The Rivets:
Sew 4 circles to your top strip, evenly spaced, about 3/4 of the way around. This opening will be where you put a pinch of stuffing into the circle. You don't really need much stuffing to make them look 3-D. After each circle is stuffed, sew closed the gap. Do the same thing for the hat band except that since the hat band will be folded in half, sew your circles to top (or bottom) 2" of the band only. I spaced my rivets so that one would be placed on the back center seam of the hat band once it was sewn together. Sew the two short ends of the band together and (if necessary) sew your last circle on top of the seam and stuff. You can now fold your band in half. You should have one side with rivets and one side without.

 3. The Horns:
Cut out 4 horn pieces (2 for each horn) the size and shape you want. Don't make them too long or they won't stand up very well. Cut out 2 circles (1 for each horn) that will be the base for the horns. These circles need to be about an 1" bigger around than the base of your stuffed horns. Sew two horn pieces together, leaving the bottom open, and stuff. There are a few ways to sew these to the circles. I demonstrated one in this graphic. Another way, for a cleaner finish, would be tuck in the bottom of the horn and hand sew it to the circles.

4: Final Assembly

Now that you have all the parts made, sew your top strip over the center seam of your hat dome. Sew the circle bases of your horns to each side of the hat, centering them over the seams on the sides. (the circles help support the weight of the horns more than sewing the horns directly to the hat). Lastly attach your folded hat band to the base of your hat dome. I show how this is done in my basic fleece hat tutorial.

Here are some photos--more can be seen in my original blog post here. 

These hats vary slightly because I was experimenting with the design and construction when I made them.