Leave it to me to sew the one project in the whole book I said I wasn't going to sew first. How does one get into this position? Well, let me tell you. First, highly pregnant, miserable, and uncomfortable, you tell your husband to go without you to the skating rink with your son. Then, when he comes back, in the middle of winter, you find that your husband and son have lost one of the cutest mittens on Earth. It was a mitten shaped like a puppy dog face with paw prints on the finger areas. You weep a little privately to yourself.
Then, two weeks later, after failing to find any other cute mittens, you give up. You decide no more mittens, which is ridiculous in January. And then, to your consternation, it snows a big snow and your son wants to play in it. You are at home, with no mittens, no way to quickly purchase good mittens, and a son who wants to play in the snow. He is sad about his puppy dog mittens. You are sad about his puppy dog mittens, but you decide something must be done. How fast can you knit mittens? The obvious answer is not fast enough.
But, sewing? Sewing is faster. And, if you think about it, you have a sewing pattern for mittens!
Project: Last Minute Mittens
So, there you are, you quickly trace off the pattern of these mittens you were never going to sew. You wonder if it is feasible to make corduroy mittens. No, that is ridiculous. Does
Jo-Ann sell microfleece or wool? Are they open in a snow storm? Suddenly, it hits you! You have microfleece pajamas that your son has outgrown. You sweep through his closet and pull out one you kind of hate. You have not picked out this non-cute pair of pajamas, that is for damned sure. Ta-da, you think. This is the pair to cut up. You'll not be cutting on grain, but you're not even sure if microfleece has a grain.
You cut, cut, cut, and then, try to figure out how to sew these suckers together. You have to give it to Oliver + S, this patten is clear. It is your own confusion and lack of sewing skills that lead you to wonder how this two dimensional fabric becomes three dimensional clothing. Finally, after a lot of work, you piece it together, and, coincidentally, you have bias tape in a color that works with the fabric in the size needed and elastic in the size required. This project was sent by God to your sewing machine, it is clear.
Miraculously, it all works together. For the first time sewing ever, you do not need to pick out stitches. Even the part that you think will not work, the zig-zagging of the edge of the raw edges, works wonderfully, creating the look of the mittens in the book.
The next morning, you hand them to your son, happy he can play outside. He looks at you, and weeps, "I want my puppy dog mittens." Your reply? "If you want to play in the snow, this is all you've got."
Less dramatically -- I feel like this was a great pattern and a wonderful introduction to the world of Oliver + S. It makes me want to make more of their stuff. It wasn't the most exciting thing to sew, but it turned out cuter than I thought it would and I loved the way the bias tape was so neutral against the blue. It was totally boyish without being dull. Also, the zig-zagging did lend a neat effect that I was not prepared for.
Do you like the way I combined my styling photoshoots for the last two projects? He matches SO WELL.
What next, what next?!
