I've been needing new oven mitts for a very long time. The ones I'd been using were distinctly decrepit. Falling apart and wearing away in the most needed of places and having been burned one time too many, I thought it only fair to give my suffering hands a fresh pair.
This project was one of necessity rather than desire. The fabric I used is nothing special, although robust and also given to me by a dear friend as part of her large declutter. Of course the magpie in me was never going to leave it behind but once washed, ironed and taking up valuable space, I became stuck for ideas as to how it should be used.
Much as I love surrounding myself with glorious fabrics, I really can't see the point of using them for something so industrious as oven mitts. Quite possibly a testament to my ruthless cooking methods, but mine quickly become charred, stained and distinctly unattractive. So once I had decided to make the mitts, choosing the fabric suddenly wasn't so difficult after all.
As predicted, I found this a boring task and one which has taken me over a month to complete. My boy has been at home with a tummy bug this week (there he is at the top, modelling in his pjs) so finally they were finished, with me hand stitching the cuffs whilst sitting, chatting, at his bedside. I'm not even convinced I saved much money doing them myself, but since I now have a reasonable supply of heatproof wadding, I will need to make more to recoup the cost.
I shouldn't be so negative really. The pattern, which came from this lovely book, was easy enough. I had fun swirling my pattern onto each side, despite the fact my basic singer wouldn't let me lower the feed dog and the manual didn't advise how to take it out. But because of the sheer bulk of the 'sandwich', not only did my newly serviced sewing machine complain but I doubt my scissors were especially happy either. I've never had oven mitts before, only the long, joined up types but already I'm thinking perhaps I made a mistake. Oh well, time will tell but at least there'll be no more burned hands ..
And you, if it's not a dull question .. mitts or gloves?
How very beautiful and clever of you. I love your oven mitts, a labour of love has so much more meaning in it. I do hope these last for a whole long time.
ReplyDeleteI usually wear gloves in the winer but might just knit myself some mitts in case snow arrives here on the south east coast again, perfect for making snow balls xox
ps. lovely blog by the way
They are really cute. Love your little boy posing with the pictures, the things we bloggers do to our loved ones ;) Hope he feels better now.
ReplyDeleteIf you set your stitch length to zero then you can free motion quilt without having to lower the feed dogs - my machine won't lower the dogs either but this is what I've been doing in my (admittedly not very successful!) attempt to learn fmq. Personally, I prefer oven gloves (the joined up ones!) but your mitts are rather lovely.
ReplyDeleteSome of the chicest oven mitts I've seen! Have to say I prefer the joined together type, but who wouldn't want to use these. I'm sure if you thought more wadding wrestling was worth the effort you could sell some in your shop :D
ReplyDeleteSimple and lovely!
ReplyDeleteAlways, I'm in a hurry with the oven, so I use mitts and tea towels, all!
Great project, I need to sew, something necessary and usefull.
:-)
Maider
To be very honest Kate it's usually the nearest tea towel folded into about four and a mad dash to get it all put down quickly before the heat makes it's way through!!
ReplyDeleteI think your mitts are both sensible and beautiful! :)
Vivienne x
Mitts for me!
ReplyDeleteI rather like the fabric - a bit Nordic looking. The swirls are a lovely touch.
I do like the sound of mitts - though we call them gloves, oven gloves to be precise, but I may have to change as it is a lovely little word that rolls off the lips nicely. Seed planted and all that.
ReplyDeleteI do hope your young man feels better soon and at least your mitts are a one off - none of this mass produced lark.
Love the swirls,
Nina x
they look great-sturdy and i love the spiral... to me they're mitts~ but i like both mitts and gloves.
ReplyDeletei just received my prizes today-thank you so much! they are so pretty and really cheered up my day :)
i'll be blogging about them soon~ :)
cheers~
andrea
We are in desperate need of new oven mitts - I prefer the seperate ones. Like the extra long ones too so I don't burn my arms!
ReplyDeleteJust need to have MrVV with me as he can't fit into some gloves due to massive hands!
Yours are lovely - just don't burn them ;)
They're very christmasy looking, very nice. I use those silicon mits as I can never get a good grip with gloves. Also the silicon things can go in the dishwasher!
ReplyDeleteTricky language question as gloves and mitts are the same to me. Have no idea what I'd call the joined-up ones apart from joined-up ones.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely glove/mitts for me as I like to be the boss about how far I can move my hands apart. Also think they tend to be better insulated than the joined-up ones.
Brilliant - I attempted a pair but after several tries with the quilting, gave up, closed my eyes, and dropped them in the bin so I wouldn't have to look at my botched job any more!
ReplyDeleteSo very nice. I like the quilted pattern.
ReplyDeleteI was just thinking today I need new oven mitts. The ones we got for our wedding 14+ years ago are in sad shape.
I prefer the word mitts, but for some reason have always called them gloves! Yours are really well made and look perfect for their job...sometimes they are just too thin and flimsy to be any real use. I know what you mean about the charring and so on....pale and pretty floral oven gloves that are no longer pristine are not an attractive sight!!
ReplyDeleteHelen x