January 2022 | THE LAKER | Page 3
Sweater Mittens: Recycling for Warmth By Kathi Caldwell-Hopper The idea of repurposing a sweater for a pair of mittens may seem unusual but take one look at the beautiful handmade mittens from Linda’s Repurposed Sweater Mittens and you will covet the products. Linda Gadwah of Plymouth, New Hampshire has always been a creative crafter, a certain type of person who sees the possibilities and creativity in everyday things such as a colorful sweater. Linda enjoys making things. Thus, when her daughter bought a pair of sweater mittens eight years ago, Linda was intrigued. “It was when the mittens had first come into existence,” she recalls. “I loved them, and I was determined to learn to make them.” Linda took the mittens apart in order to study how they were made, and although it took some observing, she eventually figured out how they were made from a sweater. With trial and error, Linda began to make sweater mittens. She stresses that the mittens are ideal for those people who are taking a walk on a cold autumn or winter’s afternoon and are very attracted to the patterns of colorful sweaters. Having done many sewing projects in the past, figuring out how to make the sweater mittens was a bit easier for Linda. She says the best and longest lasting sweater mittens are made from a highly durable sweater such as one from LL Bean or a handknit sweater. These sweaters are well made and will stand up to being cut and put back
Linda’s Repurposed Sweater Mittens are warm and durable. (Courtesy photo) together into a mitten. “I don’t use sweaters that are too bulky,” Linda says, “because they are hard on my sewing machine. I have always done simple sewing projects in the past, and I liked to crotchet.” Linda haunts thrift shops to find the right (and most durable) sweaters for her mittens, and she is particular about using wool sweaters. “I try to come home from thrift shops with good, patterned sweaters. I always wash the sweaters first because they shrink a bit. I can get three pairs of mittens from a sweater, and I use the cuffs off the sweater’s sleeves and waistband for pairs of mittens.”
Linda explains that a pattern consists of three pieces and that her finished mittens have a polished, boutique-type look. Her mitten colors match and she adds the embellishment of a button on each pair of mittens, which is her signature visual. “My sweaters mittens don’t unravel, and I want them to last,” she stresses. After Linda took apart some sweater mittens and learned how to make them, she had many pairs of mittens but had to ask herself, “Now what?” What could she do with all the sweater mittens that she had made? Luckily, the public loved Linda’s mittens and clamored to order and
purchase them. Linda says she’s made thousands of sweater mittens and she decided to take them to Off the Hanger in Plymouth to see if she could sell them. The reception was great, and this gave her confidence to continue and to also seek out other locations where she could sell her sweater mittens. The unusual sweater mittens were unique and made from beautiful sweaters and were an eye-catching and immediate hit with customers. As she sought out more locations to sell the mittens, Linda says her confidence only grew. The business is seasonal and in her best winter, Linda sold 40 dozen pair of sweater mittens. She says as with many things, it has become more difficult to find sweaters in secondhand stores for her mittens, but she enjoys the hunt to find the best sweaters she can possibly locate for the mittens. Linda describes the sweater mittens as having two layers: the outer layer is wool taken from a thrift store sweater. The inner layer is fleece. “I buy new fleece,” she explains, “and I have fun picking out just the right button for the mitten’s sleeve. I buy buttons off eBay; I like to buy metal buttons because they look ‘antiquey’.” The process from start to finish of making a sweater mitten is first going to a thrift shop and finding a sweater in the pattern and color or colors that Linda likes. She always washes the sweater first, so it shrinks a bit. Then • Mittens continued on page 4
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