Nuno Felted mittens

It’s starting to get colder and I have decided to make super soft, pretty warm mittens. Nothing feels better than natural wool against your skin in cold weather. Recently I took a trip upstate NY and found some truly beautiful wool rowing.  All-natural colors! All shades from grey to dark brown. I chose a “country “ grey for my mittens because it reminds me so much of my childhood “valenki” (felted shoes) in the exact same color.

Working on the thumb part of mittens is the most demanding part, but you can even skip the thumb part and simply make beautiful mittens for driving.

We start as usual by making a pattern for our mitten on plastic. Wool doesn’t stick to plastic and that is why we can keep the two sides of the mitten separate.

We make the first layer of wool vertically and the second layer perpendicular, slightly overlapping your pattern. We place an organza fabric over it,  wet the entire surface with warm soapy water, and work it all into the wool.

The next step is to flip over the mitten and work the loose ends of the wool to another side. We start by laying the first layer of the wool and then overlap the second layer perpendicular to the first layer. Remember, we don’t have to make the thumb part.

After working the soap water into the mitten we then bring the loose wool over the edge of the mitten. We carefully remove the plastic pattern from the inside.  We then place a towel under the project and start rolling using a swimming pool noodle.

We roll the mitten in at least two different directions (lengthwise and widthwise). After we feel that it’s pretty sturdy, we place the mitten on our hand and using mild hand soap we rub it against bubble wrap.

The last step is to rinse the mitten in warm water with a tablespoon of vinegar.

The second mitten will be even easier!

Have fun and keep rolling!😀