Quick, Easy and Frugal Mittens

The weather has been very cold here lately.  It seems to have been cold EVERYWHERE!  The gloves and mittens have mysteriously disappeared, too!  We had some in the fall.  Enough for everyone.  Since my gloves got passed down to a child, I decided to make some more. 

I had this cashmere sweater that I had found at a thrift store in Michigan last winter.  I had already made some leggings from the sleeves so I cut out some mittens from the body of the sweater.   Using my sewing machine, I stitched these up in no time. 

You could use an old sweater.  If it is wool, it could be felted first.  Just make a pattern from your own hand.  Remember to add enough for a seam allowance and room for that seam allowance in the thumb, especially.  Otherwise it will be too tight.  Have fun!  Let me know if you make some.  It would be fun to see your creations, too!!

Have a great day!

A Cute, EASY, DIY Garland

This adorable garland is so easy to whip up you might put it at the bottom of your "to-do" party list!! I got the original idea from The Purl Bee and you can find the site here. I modified her instructions to make it even easier!

All you need is a charm pack of fabric squares and a sewing machine. Mine are 5 inch squares. (Similiar to this pack. It's not the one I used for the garland but just so you know what to look for in the store.)

I started the sewing with a small piece of ribbon in case I wanted to tie the garland to something. Fold the squares in half with the right sides out to make a triangle and sew down the long folded side about a 1/4 inch from the edge. Slightly overlap them at the tips and just keep sewing until you have the length of garland that you want.

Using fun, bright fabrics, you could make these for parties, to decorate a nursery or even decorate for the holidays. Just get the charms in seasonal fabrics and away you go!!

Happy creating!