How to: Make Faux Fur Mittens

When I found a remnant of faux fur for less than £1, I knew I'd definitely be using it somehow. These are what my mum is referring to as my "Mr Tumnus gloves", although I'd like to point out that Mr Tumnus had furry legs, not hands. Even so, there is something rather Narnian about these mittens, no?

To make them, you will need some fur fabric, a backing fabric, a sewing machine, some paper and a pen.

First up, you'll need to make a template for your mittens. To do this draw around your hand on a piece of paper. Keep your fingers reasonably close together, but stick your thumb out.

Now, make a template by drawing around this handprint, roughly 2cm away from the lines. Cut this out to make your template.

Now you can cut out your fabric pieces. Draw around your template four times, remembering to flip it so that you have left and right hands. You need two furry pieces (left AND right), and two backing pieces (left AND right). You could use any fabric for the backing - I'm using a tweedy fabric to give my mittens a country heritage look, but fleece or cord would also work well.

Now you're ready to sew! Pin a furry piece and a backing piece right sides together, and sew as shown on the diagram below. You could make a pair with an elasticated wrist, instead of the flap I used - just make your wrist a bit wider on your template. Remember, when sewing with faux fur make sure you push all fur strands to the inside (or right side), or you will end up with bald seams.

Now all that's left to do is enjoy wearing your fluffy, furry mittens. If you were making these for children, it would be a great idea to applique a paw print to the underneath (hell, if I make another pair for myself, I'm doing that!).

With the rest of my fur remnant, I made this adorable faux fur collar.

The free pattern can be found at Tilly and the Buttons (if you haven't checked out Tilly's blog before, do it - I highly recommend it).

Have you got any more ideas for faux fur remnants? I'd love to hear them!