Do you need an easy, last-minute gift idea? Maybe you just need some new oven mitts…This oven mitt project is great for beginner sewers. Make them year after year to replace worn mitts from the previous years.
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As Summertime starts to wind down and the cooler weather begins to come in, I always start thinking about Christmas. This thought process begins because I have made my own Christmas gifts for family and friends for years. Some of my favorite simple, homemade gifts include: hand scrub, tallow face and body cream, shea body butter, oven mitts, aprons, blankets, staple mixes, and jams!
The great thing about making your own Christmas gifts is that you can make them in bulk ahead of time and it also saves money! I am always looking for ways to spend as little as possible on things like this so that instead, my family can have more money to make memories together.
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As more bodies fill up my home, it seems like all they do is eat! I am constantly baking things like bread, muffins, homemade Pop-Tarts, and Sourdough skillet meals. Due to all this cooking, I wear through my oven mitts so quickly. So, I thought to myself, why don’t I try my hand at making my own? After all, I am quite ambitious and can get a project like this completed to share as gifts with little practice.
Being confident to jump in and learn a new skill is something that has not always come easy. The more DIY projects I make for my home, the more I want to try my hand at new projects. Not only that but, as I’ve become a wife and mother my creativity and desire to save money has become a both a necessity and a passion.
Never would I have thought that I would be into sewing, gardening, and cooking. Now, those are the things that excite me and I love to involve my family in doing as well. God has amazing plans for each and every one of us and I can’t wait to see what other creative passions unfold in our home as we step out to learn new skills.
Why sew your own Oven Mitts?
The most important reason for me to sew my own oven mitts is because so much satisfaction comes from using something that I created in my home. The value that that particular product holds for me is so much higher than a store-bought item. Sure, I can probably go find oven mitts at a thrift shop or dollar store for fairly cheap, but the quality of that product is just not the same. I use my oven mitts so often that, I need something that will last use after use in my kitchen.
If you are a beginner at sewing, then this is a project you can definitely learn. It is more involved than a simple kitchen tea towel or curtain, but not much more.
The hardest part of this sewing project is that you need several layers of batting to make the Oven Mitts heat resistant. It can be challenging to sew that many layers and ensure they are secure, especially since the batting stretches and moves. Once you dial in the thread tension, however, you are good to go on being able to sew the batting. Now, you’ll be able to create a beautiful and usable oven mitt with your own two hands. Let’s get sewing!
Supplies you will need
- Sewing machine
- Thread to match your fabric
- Fabric (medium to heavy duty)
- Batting (Insul-bright is preferred since it’s heat resistant)
- Sewing pins
- An Oven Mitt, for reference
- Scissors
- Bias tape (Optional)
Easy DIY Oven Mitts Sewing Instructions
Start out by cutting out the fabric for the Mitts. I chose to use a Dark Denim for this project. The brown Oven Mitt in the picture below is what I’m using as my guide for cutting.
Fold your fabric of choice in half with right sides facing inward. Then place your guide on top of the folded fabric. Cut out your Oven Mitt shape following the perimeter of the Oven Mitt.
Be sure to leave 1/4 inch of space around the entire perimeter for seam allowance.
After you get the shape of the Oven Mitts cut, you’ll use your fabric of choice as the guide to do the same with the batting. Layer 4-6 pieces (this will make your oven mitt 2-3 layers thick on each side) of batting together and place the fabric you just cut on top, right sides still facing together. Pin the Oven Mitt fabric into place with sewing pins.
Cut around the perimeter of the fabric and batting. You do not need to leave a seam allowance this time because we are using the fabric for the guide, which already includes the seam allowance.
Stitch around the perimeter of the oven mitt 1/2 inch in for seam allowance. Be sure to leave the bottom open so you can turn the mitts right side out.
Top stitch the batting into place by creating a grid of vertical and horizontal lines. This will keep the fabric from bunching when washed and used.
How to create bias with extra fabric in lieu of bias tape
If you do not have bias tape you can use a thin piece of the fabric you used for the Oven Mitt to close the raw edge.
To do so, follow the same instructions but be sure to cut the width of your fabric to 1/2 inch. This will leave 1/4 inch of bias tape for folding over each side of the raw edge on the mitt. Then, to make the fabric into bias fold the fabric in half length wise and press it with an iron. Fold each side inward again to the crease and press with your iron.
Sewing bias tape over the raw edge of the opening in the mitt
If you aren’t making your own bias tape, you can cut a piece of Bias tape the length of the opening plus and extra inch.
Fold the bias tape in half over the raw edge on the bottom of the mitt. Overlap the bias tape and fold the end under. Cut an extra 3 inches of bias tape to create a loop.
Top stitch near the bottom of the bias tape to secure it to the Oven Mitt. Be careful to remove all of the pins as you sew so that you do not sew over the pins, doing so can damage your sewing needle.
How to keep the seams from unraveling
If you have a Sewing Serger you can finish the edges following along where you have sewn. Alternatively, your regular sewing machine can be used in a zigzag pattern at the closest stitch length to accomplish this.. This will keep the seams from unraveling over time.
Turn the Oven Mitt right side out.
Voila! You have just made a beautiful and usable Oven Mitt. Follow these instructions to make a partner for your Oven Mitt so that they make a pair.
For more DIY projects from My abiding home:
If you try this project, I’d love if you came back and gave it 5 stars!
Easy DIY Oven Mitt Sewing Tutorial
Equipment
- Scissors
- Sewing Machine
Materials
- 2 18×34 inch Pieces of fabric Medium to Heavy duty
- 6 18×34 inch Pieces of batting Heat-resistant preferred
- 36 inches Double Fold Bias Tape
- Thread Matching your fabric
- Several Sewing Pins
- 1 Oven Mitt for a guide to cut the fabric and batting
Instructions
- Lay desired fabric underneath your Oven Mitt guide. Cut fabric around perimeter of your Oven Mitt guide, leaving ¼ inch of seam allowance.
- Stack one piece of the fabric you just cut on top of 3 pieces of batting, right side facing out. Pin into place with several Sewing Pins.
- Repeat with the second piece of fabric and remaining 3 pieces of batting.
*Optional top-stitch step
- Top stitch in a crisscross pattern across the entire oven mitt while still pinned to the batting. Remove pins as you top stitch, being sure not to sew over the Sewing Pins.
Back to Oven Mitt Sewing Instructions
- Open Bias Tape and fold over the front and back side of the bottom of the Oven Mitt.
- Secure the Bias Tape with a few Sewing Pins, allowing 2 inches of the Bias Tape to hang over the side (to create a loop to hang).
- Top stitch the Bias Tape onto the Oven Mitt, removing the Sewing Pins as you stitch.
- Stack one side of the Oven Mitt fabric with batting on top of the other, so that the Oven Mitt is inside out. Stitch the seams together around the perimeter of the Oven Mitt. *Leave ¼ inch of seam allowance and do not sew along the Bias Tape which you already have secured with a top stitch.
- Use a Sewing Serger or Zigzag stitch along the ¼ inch seam to keep the seams from unraveling over time.
- Turn the Oven Mitt right side out and repeat all steps to create a second Oven Mitt to have a pair!
so much wonderful info on here, : D.