Itty Bitty Oven Mitts!

I am so excited to take part in Spice Up Your Kitchen with Anna at Noodlehead! I ~love~ Anna's blog, and she is a great bloggy friend. I highly recommend checking out her projects -- especially her zippy wallet, which I have made numerous times (addicting!!), and her GENIUS drawstring backpack, which is on my to-make list!


For my kitchen-y project, I chose to do a (very!) little something to spice up the fridge.

How about the cutest little tiny oven mitts ever??
They're magnets!

Here's what you need:
~ Fabric scraps -- main fabric and trim fabric
(you literally only need a few inches of fabric!)
~ Scrap of cardstock
~ small magnet
~ chopstick or other pointy object for turning
~ hot glue gun

STEP ONE: Pick your fabric. I had a ridiculously good time pawing through my ridiculously tiny little I-Spy fabric scraps!

STEP TWO: Create your pattern. I looked at one of my own oven mitts and drew up a quick little pattern. (This photo shows my pattern on standard graph paper -- 1/4" squares.)

STEP THREE: Cut a window of your pattern from your scrap of cardstock so you can "audition" your scraps for motif placement.

STEP FOUR: Once you've decided on a motif you like, flip over your fabric and your window and trace the pattern on the back of your fabric, using a pencil.

STEP FIVE: Trim your fabric parallel to the top edge of the mitt, a scant 1/4" from the line.

STEP SIX: Turn your mitt fabric right side up and layer your trim fabric scrap face down on top, aligning the fabrics on the edge. Sew, using a scant 1/4" seam allowance. Repeat using more scraps for the opposite side of the oven mitt. (No need to center a motif on the back side of the mitt -- no one will ever see it!)

STEP SEVEN: Press your seam allowances toward the trim fabric.

STEP EIGHT: Layer your two pieces right sides together, aligning the seam lines as shown.

STEP NINE: Shorten your stitch length and sew on your pencil lines, starting and stopping about 1/2" inside the trim fabric.

STEP TEN: Trim close to your stitching line and clip around curves. Be sure to clip right up in the corner where the thumb and the rest of the mitt meet so the thumb will turn correctly.

STEP ELEVEN: Gently turn the mitt right side out. Use a chopstick or other "pointy yet blunt" object to carefully poke out the thumb.

STEP TWELVE: Use a few scraps to "stuff" the mitt and give it the thickness it needs to look realistic. I fold a scrap over my chopstick...

...and gently poke it into the mitt, keeping it as flat as possible.

STEP THIRTEEN: Trim the trim (ha!) to about 1/2",

and tuck in the raw edges. Make the trim look as narrow and realistically-scaled as you can.

STEP FOURTEEN: Press it flat!
(Awwww, look at the reflection of Kitty sleeping on her pillow on the ironing board!!)

STEP FIFTEEN: Use some of your trim fabric to create a narrow strip for the oven mitt loop. Fold one edge as narrowly as you can, then fold again, and sew. Trim after sewing, as close to the stitching line as possible. I make it much longer than I need so that it is easier to hold and manage when sewing.

STEP SIXTEEN: Fold your loop strip in half and attach to the top edge (same side as the thumb) with a needle and thread. I sew it to the corner, to only the back side of the mitt.

STEP SEVENTEEN: Trim away the excess loop ends and hot glue a magnet to the back.

DONE! It's ready to hold up your grocery list!

*ahem* -- I may have gotten a little carried away with the itty bitty oven mitts! There were just TOO MANY cute options in my I-Spy scrap bin -- and they are so fun and quick to make!!