Due to screaming demand (well, actually, Sharry in Alaska is the only one who asked, but still…) here is a photo of my latest creation.
I love that I can wear these and still operate my iPhone, type or a million other tasks that require fingers while still keeping me toasty.
Here’s the other thing; there is always that chilly gap between the end of my sleeves and/or end of my jacket…you know that little wrist section that gets all chilled and makes you crazy? That happens to you too, right??
I’m not including my husband in this survey. He’s never cold and doesn’t quite get it but he’s also a very smart man and knows that if I’m not happy…ain’t nobody happy.
But these beauties keep me all cozy and content. And because they are projects that come together relatively fast and fairly cheap, they also satisfy my ADD/OCD issues and appeal on a very deep and fundamental level to my frugal cheap Mennonite genes.
Plus I get to feel all virtuous and resourceful and little House on the Prairie-ish.
Did I also mention how I’m saving the environment by recycling old thrift store sweaters? The benefits never stop I tell you!
So. If you want to join in on the fun. Find some old sweaters; they have to be 100% natural fibre (wool, cashmere, Merino wool, etc.) No acrylic or cotton blends allowed.
Throw them in the wash, on the hottest setting, with a pair of jeans (they help rough up the fibres). Now do what you’ve never dared to do with a sweater. Throw them all in the dryer with the same jeans on the hottest setting. Repeat the process up to three times until the fibres are matted and felted. Most of mine seem to have cooked up nicely after two rounds of this program. (Make sure it’s your fattest jeans that are in the dryer…because darling, they’re going to shrink a little).
Now cut the sleeves off (you can do it Sharry!), slide it onto your arm and cut a little hole for your thumb to stick out. Don’t worry. It won’t fray. No sewing required (whew!). Buy one of those little wool defuzzer thingys and brush off all the little woolly pills. There. Now the fabric is soft and clear of nubby bits.
Sew on a button, cut out a heart, or fashion a flower from another piece of felty fabric and voila!
You too are a Virtuous Resourceful Warm & Stylin’ Queen.
Great idea, my girlfriend knit me a pair last Christmas and I love them!!
Haven’t tried the sweater idea but looks like a great plan!
You are full of good ideas!! Merry Christmas!
Hey Laurie, I am definitely full of ideas; no shortage of ideas, but there seems to be a shortage of time to implement them all. Looking forward to hearing how it goes with the shrunken sweater plan 🙂 Feliz Navidad!
Dragons Den here we come! I love them Colleen. And I love that they are so simple to make. I’m going to try it over the Christmas break. Great instructions too. Thanks!
Dragons Den indeed! I could ask for $13.00 for start-up costs 🙂 Happy Sweater Hunting Karen.
Thanks, Colleen! I love them! My mother-in-law knit me two pairs of short-fingered gloves that I absolutely love to wear at work when I’m cold but have to keep typing. Now I’ll have to search for some old wool sweaters. I know I’ll have an easier time cutting those up than books!
Hey Sharry, the other fun part of this project is how some of the sweaters turn out. I just bought a few lambswool camel-coloured sweaters; obviously very high-end and quite chi-chi…well, they shrunk into perfect kid-sized clothes. My great nieces are going to be very stylin’ in their expensive new lambswool sweaters and jackets. Those sleeves are staying on!
Ahem. There were two screams, so thank you for posting these! Now I totally get it. What a cool idea. Though I think I’ll have to shut my eyes to cut the arms off…
Yes Laurie, it’s true. I saw your comment right after I did the post. So obviously, the boisterous and screaming demand for these instructions was an international phenomenon. I’m not sure if shutting and cutting are actions that should be done simultaneously…just a thought.