How to Make Fleece Mittens for Kids
This tutorial is all about how to make cozy mittens for your kids quickly and easily using just small pieces of fleece that you might have leftover from other sewing projects.
This quick mitten project can be used not just to make pairs of mittens for little hands but for the whole family as well. They also make great gifts.
Table of Contents
Supply List for Fleece Mittens
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- Anti-Pil Fleece Fabric or a suitable alternative (see below for alternatives). The actual amount of fleece you will need depends on the size of the mittens you want to make but for toddler sizes you don’t need much – so this is a great project for leftover fleece scraps!
- Template (see instructions below for how to create this)
- Thread
- Regular sewing machine
How to Make Fleece Mittens for Kids
This is a super simple project and should take no more than 10-15 minutes from start to finish!
Step 1: Create a template of your child’s hand
The first thing to do is to make the mitten pattern pieces. You actually only need to cut one template because you can cut your fabric folded or flip the template.
The easiest way to do this is to use your child’s hand as a guide.
You can of course take a measuring tape and measure your child’s hand but I find the easiest way is to trace the shape of the relaxed hand on a piece of paper.
If they won’t put their hand down long enough for you to trace their actual hand you can also trace an existing mitten.
Once traced, cut the mitten shape template from the piece of paper.
Step 2: Cut your Fleece Fabric using the Template
Cut two pieces of fleece for each mitten slightly bigger (1/4 inch) than the template.
You should have 4 fleece pieces in total for one pair of mittens.
If you cut both pieces of fleece at once with a folded piece of fabric (as pictured) you will get matching front and back pieces for each mitten that will sew together nicely.
If you are not cutting like this then just make sure for each mitten you have a back piece and a front piece so that the thumbs will match up when you put them right sides together.
Step 3: Sew Mittens
Place the fabric pieces for each mitten right sides together.
You can use the same fabric for both sides or change it up and have a different fabric on each side.
Sew a seam all the way around the mitten except for the wrist area.
I used about a 1/4 inch seam allowance all the way around.
Use an extra backstitch at the base of the thumb area and at either wrist edge.
Fleece doesn’t fray so you don’t need to use a zig-zag stitch or finish the raw edges of the cuff.
Step 4: Trim Seam Allowance and Turn Right Sides Out
Cut off a bit of the excess fabric all the way around the mitten’s seam allowance to reduce bulk inside.
Turn the mitten’s right sides out and you are done!
Finished Project
These diy mittens were super quick to make and turned out great.
They fit really well and were warm and toasty.
Video Tutorial
This project was in a video on my channel about different quick and easy fleece projects. The video can be found here and the mittens demonstration is at timestamp 10:33.
Printable Cheat Sheet
How to Make Kids Fleece Mittens
Materials
- Fleece fabric remnants
- Thread
- Paper for a template
Tools
- Regular sewing machine
- Scissors
Instructions
- Cut a mitten template from a piece of paper by tracing your child's hand or tracing a mitten.
- Use the template to cut two pieces of fleece.
- Sew two pieces of fleece together, right sides together, with 1/4 inch seam allowance. Leaving the bottom of the mitten open.
- Trim excess fabric.
- Turn the mitten right side out.
Top Tips
- Use an existing mitten to make a paper template so you are sure to get the right size.
- If you don’t have fabric remnants, you can use an old sweatshirt or an old sweater you no longer wear to make a pair of mittens.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can find fleece and other fabric remnants at yard sales, estate sales, thrift stores and craft fairs. There are also many online retailers that sell bundles of fabric remnants including Amazon and ETSY.
On standard fleece the nubby side is the right side and the smooth side is the wrong side.
You can use remnants of faux fur or sweatshirt fleece.
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