We always need scratch mitts. I’m pretty sure scratch mitts are the smallest item we give out in a starter pack. I’m absolutely not a fan of fiddly sewing. I avoid sewing anything small and stretchy. This is the reason I’ve not made a tutorial for scratch mitts previously. I’ve linked a few tutorials for sewing scratch mitts on the Baby Basics Pinterest board which I don’t think I can improve on if you want to sew them from scratch making a cuff of adding elastic.
This Tutorial cuts out all the need for cuff making or adding elastic. A few weeks ago we were donated some fabric in the pile were some cut off T-shirt sleeves. In one of my flashes of an idea I realised they were perfect for scratch mitts.
For this Tutorial you will need:- T.shirt Sleeves with ribbed cuff, Sewing Machine, Scissors, Card for Template, Scissors, Biro.
I used a brand new pair of scratch mitts to make a template. These are the ones anyone can buy off our current wishlist.
I made a Template. The Mitt Template is 12cm in length and the cuff is 6cm wide.
Fold the T.Shirt sleeve inside out. It does not matter if the cuff on the T.shirt is the same depth as the template. You just need to line up the template the the join of the cuff and T.shirt. Draw round the template and cut out both layers. You need 4 cut out shapes to make 1 pair of Mitts.
Obviously T.shirts come in lots of different sizes. Specifically to these sleeves I managed to cut out 1 pair of mitts in each sleeve.
Using a small zig zag stitch sew round the mitt.
Turn the right way out and they are Finished.
…But that’s not all…… Having set my eyes on the T.shirt cuffs I then realised something else that could be used. These trousers are very cute but unfortunately we could not give them out as they have marks on one the the leg seams. If you are using secondhand clothes to make the mitts please check for stains and that the cuff area is not to worn or rough as they need to be soft for Babies hands. This pair of trousers are very soft.
Here are the Mitts.
Hope you have some fun making some Mitts for us. I’ll add more photos as and when I make some more from suitable clothes.
February 2022. I’ve made a few more and I’ve also measured how much elastic to use, If you are using Jersey fabric with no stretch in the hem or cuff. This means that the pattern also works for anyone making mitts from any jersey fabric.
I used this pile of Baby Clothes.
I used the same original template.
I made 1 pair of lion king ones out of Jogging Bottom legs.
I added 14cm of elastic to these Mitts ( I cut off the spare elastic once I had sewn them together, The extra 2cm makes it easier to sew together) The elastic helps gather the wrist cuff if the fabric hasn’t enough stretch. The photos below show this as the were cut from clothes with no stretchy cuffs.
bekyip 