Mitten Patterns and Resources
Be a Mittenmaker
Mittens have been handmade for centuries, and the pairs we receive show every variation on the theme — knit, crochet, sewn, upcycled. The constant? Every MittenMaker understands the goal: warm hands on cold days.
Since 2010, MittenMakers have sent tens of thousands of handmade pairs to warm the hands of kids, teens, and adults in and around Detroit. We receive an average of 1,000–1,500 pairs a year — not just from Metro Detroit and across Michigan, but from makers as far away as New York, Arizona, Florida, Minnesota, Illinois, and beyond. We recently received 100 gorgeous handknit pairs all the way from Alberta, Canada! Thank you all for your time, creativity, and generosity.
We’re honored that Mittens for Detroit was featured in Interweave Knitting Holiday Issue 2017 — a beautiful look at where your pairs end up. We accept donations year-round, so it’s never too early or too late to mail yours in.
Looking for Patterns?
Knitting Pattern
If you knit, there are many patterns online – we like this Easy-Knit Mittens by Lion Brand:
Pattern Support and Resources
Want to upcycle old sweaters into mittens?
Here are two great tutorials to get you started:
Sweater-to-mittens video tutorial — thanks to Adam at Lifehacker for this one!
Hand-sewn, single-sweater tutorial (video below) — shared by Mittens for Detroit supporter Lori Colburn. Uses one sweater (or two, for a front/back pairing), and can be machine-stitched to go faster.