Winter Warmers

It's getting cold!  I knew it was coming, but was perhaps in a bit of denial.  The girl and I needed some warmer accessories, so out came the fleece. 


I needed a black hat to wear with my pink winter coat.  I've had the coat for a few years and can't figure out what I wore with it other winters!  I guess the past two years I mostly wore my Mamajacket, but that has found a new home with another babywearing mama.... I've had my eye on the hat from Ottobre Woman 5/09 since it came out, so I traced it and went to work.  It was pretty quick to sew.  The tucks took a little bit of fiddling and I blind-hemmed it by hand, but it still was done in one nap, with time to spare. 

Side view showing the tucks

It's hard enough to get a decent self-portrait without having to worry about picking up the details on black!  I'm not sure how I feel about the finished product.  I'm not in love with it, but I don't know if it's the style or just that I shouldn't wear that much black by my face.  Hmm.  What do you think?


On to the girl's winter wear.  E. just had those cheapo stretchy mittens, because they're easy to get on her, but they weren't cutting it now that it's frigid.  She needed something warmer for when we pick up O. and the other ones I bought her fell off after about thirty seconds.  I was looking for something else and came across the Sew Baby Mitten Wraps pattern, which I'd totally forgotten I had (tells you something about my pattern stash!).

I'd originally bought it when O. was her age, but tried to make them from WindPro and thought that fleece was too thick and hard to work with for such small thumbs.  This time I used 200 weight Polartec -- the same as her hat made two years ago (!) from the RainShed Convertible Bomber hat pattern -- lined with cotton thermal from one of her shirts from last winter. 

They're not an example of my best sewing, between the stretchiness of the thermal, trying to keep four layers together neatly, and hurrying because she needed them ASAP.  That said, they are *so easy* to put on!  She has sensory issues and doesn't like her hands touched, so getting her thumbs in the right spots can be tough, but these slid right on without her making a peep! 

Open flat

O. has a serious case of crazy eye in this one.  Ha!!