How can I make wrist warmers reusing or recycling old things?
A few weeks ago, I made passing reference to arm/wrist warmers but I thought I’d mention them again because it’s amazing what a difference they make.
There are hundreds of different knitting and crochet patterns for fingerless gloves – from the very simple (a square folded over with a thumb hole left in the seam) to ones with cabling-a-go-go and separate half fingers to provide more coverage – and they don’t take long to knit/crochet up — but what are the options for non-knitters/crocheters?
Last week, Leethal posted a how-to make them out of old socks and you can also make them from the sleeves of old jumpers/sweaters/long-sleeved tops.
Any other suggestions? Any advice on refashioning them out of existing clothes – what to look for/avoid in the starting items?
(Picture by deb roby)
One of the best ways would be to use the sleeves of old jumpers. Simply cut off the sleeve to the desired length and hem the raw edge or bind it with tape. You could even use jersey tshirts of hoodies and have thinner ones for when you are working on the computer.
Either that or you could make them out of old scarves and simply stitch up the side. :-)
I am lucky enough to live in an area with lots of textile industry, and know several people who work in the mills. Particular one woman is good at salvaging odds and ends that otherwise go to landfill (I assume), and she often gives away stuff she doesn’t use herself. All my dog- and cat blankets are made from such bits, for instance – all in pure wool. Right now I am in the process of making wristwarmers as yule gift to *everybody* from a piece of mustard coloured felted wool that this woman gave me.
I wish I had a place where I could post the pattern for you all – after finding a way to get it onto the computer first! Hopefully this description will do: they’ll be made like a ca. 10cm wide band that is buttoned around the wrist, and with a curved “tongue” that goes a bit down the back of the hand. I plan to decorate mine with black embroidery.
Forgot to mention: they’ll be lined with cotton flanell from an old work shirt!
Re: what to start with, just make sure it’s wool. A huge amount of clothing that looks nice and wooly is actually made with acryllic fibres or other artificial stuff that isn’t warm at all.
If you’re not sure, snip off a little loose thread and burn it – if its wool it’ll smell like burnt hair i.e. disgusting.