Turn your ugly sweaters in amazing gifts

So you know all those hideous Christmas sweaters that were once in style but now fit in the “What was I thinking” category. Well now you can find a new use for them and turn them into adorable Christmas presents.

I made my first pair of upcycled sweater mittens several years ago after visiting a friend in Minnesota the first week in December and didn’t bring mittens. Terrible idea. When we were out shopping we came across and entire wall filled with handmade upcycled sweater mittens. They were adorable. They were $40. The crafty person inside of me said, “You can make these for $5 with a thrift store sweater.”

So I froze, and when I got back into town raided Goodwill, picked up some fleece and made my own pair.

I’ve made dozens of these, maybe hundreds. I used to do the craft show circuit before Quilt Addicts Anonymous took off. But these are just so cute, easy to make and you really can make them for about $5 a pair. That means they make really great Christmas gifts.

Now to the details of the pattern. You need one sweater and a quarter yard of fleece, a decorative button is optional. The sweater is used for the outside of the mitten, the fleece is used for the lining. It is worth it to opt for the softest fleece you can find to make them warm and snuggly.

In my opinion fair isle patterns make the best sweater mittens. Argyle, stripes and hideous characters like reindeer, snowmen and penguins make great designs for the back of the mittens.

So watch the tutorial, check out the pattern and make yourself, or 10 of your best friends a pair. And for this week only, you can get the pattern for free until December 24, with any $10 purchase on shop.quiltaddictsanonymous.com. Click here to add it to your cart.