Robot Mittens

I try to make a lot of the gifts I give out for Christmas and birthdays, it's usually budget friendly and I feel like it's a little better than giving a gift card. Now don't get me wrong, I love getting money for a gift, who doesn't? But I also enjoy gifts that are unique and have had some time put into them.  .

Last year I waited until a month or two before Christmas to start making our gifts and almost didn't finish making everything, I figured it would be smart to start a little early this year. It's no fun when your stressing out a week before Christmas because you have so much to get done. The holidays are more enjoyable when they are stress free, don't ya think?

While looking for things to make Charlie I came across this wonderful mitten pattern and I crochet him some mittens. The pattern is well written and I was able to get the gloves done really quick. The pattern can also be used to make gloves for older kids and adults too. After looking at the mittens I felt like they could use a little more protection. I don't know if you've ever played in the snow with crochet gloves but after a few minutes the snow starts to seep through the gloves and your hands get cold really quick. If there is snow outside it is inevitable that Charlie will be in it. So I needed to come up with a way to keep the snow from getting through right away.

I found some felt in my craft room and came up with a robot that I could sew onto the gloves. It will give Charlie's hands a little more protection from the cold and it looks cute to boot! I made a printable robot pattern and a simple oval pattern that you could put on the gloves instead of the robot if your looking for something quick.

The materials I used where

-Yarn

-Crochet needle

-Scissors

-Needle

-Thread

-Crafting felt sheets in any color you choose

-Craft glue (optional)

Step one! Crochet your gloves. 

Step two! Cut out your Robot!

Step three! Sew the eyes to the Robots head and the hands
 to the robots arms.

Step four! Place both heads on each of the gloves
 and make sure their placement is the same. You need
to also make sure that you are putting the Robot
on to the palm of each glove. Sew them on.

Step five! Do the same thing with the body of the
 robot and sew that puppy onto your mitten.

      Step six! Sew on your arms and your done!

Notes- I used a stitch similar to a blanket stitch for this project. You want to be very careful to not go through both layers of the glove when trying to sew your applique on. 

You can use a craft glue to stick the eyes and hands in place before you start stitching but it isn't necessary.

If you would like to use a different fabric like cotton for your mittens you may want to add fusible interfacing to it so that it isn't so flimsy. It will also keep the fabric from fraying.  Double sided fusible interfacing like Heat and Bond, will not stick well to your mitten and you run the risk of melting your yarn if you try to iron it on. So if you go the interfacing route then iron it on to your fabric only and iron it before you place the pieces on your glove so you don't burn anything.

I hope you really enjoyed this tutorial. Its really simple and lots of fun, you don't even have to use a robot. Make your own applique and put it together and post a picture on the Divine Crafting Facebook Page, I would love to see what you've come up with.

What I've Learned About Sewing

I am not the best seamstress in the world but there are a few things I have learned that have helped me to make my sewing projects look better (or at the very least keep me from loosing my mind when something doesn't turn out right).

1. The IRON is your BEST FRIEND!

It makes things so much easier when you can iron down a hem before you sew it or iron out a piece of fabric before you cut out your pattern. It may seem like a wast of time but it really helps.

2. Take the time to thoroughly PLAN OUT YOUR PROJECT.

I know from experience this will save you a lot of headaches later. I can't remember how many times I have messed up on a project and then had to spend a ton of time ripping out seams because I didn't plan out how I was going to sew my garment together before I did it. If you are working from a pattern read it before you start doing anything. If you are making something without a pattern, sit down and write out what you are going to do, what pieces will be sewn together first, second, third and so on.

3. You can always START OVER.

If you mess up on a project don't sweat it! Everyone makes mistakes; just remember that you can always start your project over. Unless you are working with fabric they just don't make anymore....then oops.

4. Wait until your kids are asleep.

It is a lot easier to finish a project if you don't have to worry about your little one running off with your fabric or sticking their fingers in your sewing machine while you are trying to work.

5. Practice on fabric you don't care about

Don't use expensive fabric your first time around. It really stinks when you mess up and waste 50 bucks.

6. Experiment

Take some time and experiment with your sewing machine, it takes some time to get to know your sewing machine so try different stitches, mess with the tension and learn how to fix it.

7. TAKE A STEP BACK AND BREATHE.

There are many times when one of my projects just isn't turning out like I wanted it to. So I just step back and leave my project alone for a little while...take deep breaths and try not to throw my sewing machine out the window. Then reassess the project and try to fix the problem.

8. Learn to get along 

If you are new to sewing and you're anything like me you're going to be using your seam ripper a lot. Learn to get along with it, you are going to be spending a lot of time together so you might as well just be friends. Just don't leave it out or your kids may tear your couch apart.

Thanks for reading!