Doll Mittens Tutorial

Your doll may want to dress warmly during the colder months of the year, so I have created a tutorial to sew a pair of mittens. This step-by-step tutorial shows how you can create some mittens for your favorite doll in less than an hour, providing you have all the right tools. Most of the items used in this tutorial can be purchased at a fabric or craft store. Feel free to share this tutorial with your friends! Happy sewing!

What You Need

• Jersey Knit Fabric: Children’s clothing is an excellent source for a lightweight jersey knit with small patterns or stripes. I often purchase children’s clothing from a non-profit organization. I am donating money to the organization with my purchase!
• Heat Set Glue: Heat set glue is a fabric glue that adheres two pieces of fabric together permanently by heating the fabric and glue with a hot iron.
• Iron
• Scissors
• Painter’s Tape or Masking Tape
• A Knit Sweater You won’t cut the sweater. It is just used temporarily to aid with the painter’s or masking tape.
• Sewing Machine You can sew by hand using needle and thread if you like.
  
• Crochet Hook or a similar item to turn the mittens right side out

- STEP 1 -

Just as you did with your own hands in grade school, trace one of your doll’s hands onto card stock or a very lightweight cardboard. This will be your pattern.

- STEP 2 -

Cut a piece of jersey knit fabric that is approximately 8 inches by 3 inches (20.3 cm by 7.6 cm). Using your iron, press down about a quarter inch (.6 cm) along the length of the fabric.This will become the cuff of the mitten.

Apply a line of heat set glue to the quarter inch (.6 cm) fold and gently press down to re-create the fold you have already ironed. Press the fold with the heat set glue into place using the iron. NOTE: You may want to put something between the glued fabric and your iron to prevent glue residue from getting onto your iron. It may take a few minutes of ironing time until the glue is dry. ALSO NOTE: DON’T move the iron back and forth, but let it set on top of the fabric. Moving the iron can cause the fabric to move out of place.

- STEP 3 -

Prepare the painter’s tape or masking tape by sticking small pieces to a sweater or other piece of fabric. Peel off the tape and re-apply the tape to the sweater or fabric a few times. This process allows the adhesive on the tape to collect tiny fibers. By doing this, the adhesive is weakened so that when it is used in the next steps, it doesn’t damage the fabric you are using to create the mittens.

- STEP 4 -

Cut the fabric for the mittens in half. Then cut each piece in half again. Put two pieces together with the right sides facing each other. Do the same with the remaining two pieces. If using a striped fabric, make sure the stripes line up on the two pieces of fabric that will make one mitten.

- STEP 5 -

Put one piece of tape onto one set of fabric pieces lining the straight edge of the tape with the top of the fabric. The top of the fabric is where you pressed and glued down the fold or cuff area. Trace the mitten pattern onto the painter’s tape.

- STEP 6 -

It’s time to sew, but if you are uncomfortable sewing without pinning, you can add pins to the fabric. You can also use Tacky or heat set glue to hold the fabric in place. Apply it around the outside of the mitten pattern so that it doesn’t come into contact with your sewing line that you traced.

Use the smallest stitch length size you can. Sew directly onto the line you drew around the mitten pattern. I use a size 2 length on my Singer machine. NOTE: I do not use the sewing machine pedal to sew the mittens. Rather, I rotate the balance wheel to make sure I stay on the pattern line I drew onto the tape. This gives me more control over the needle and staying on the drawn line. The purpose of the tape is not just to mark the pattern, but to stabilize the fabric while you sew.

- STEP 7 -

Trim the excess threads, then carefully peel away the tape. Once you have peeled away the tape, you can trim around your mitten edges. Be VERY careful not to cut into any of the threads.

- STEP 8 -

Using your crochet hook or a similar item, begin to turn the mittens right side out. Be careful not to poke the hook through the edges that you have sewn. Once you have turned them right side out, you have finished. Put them onto your doll’s hands and enjoy!