Home-made arm/leg warmers

[jobob]

Very clever!

[Eden]

a little OT... but a little related.. Catriona's leg/arm warmers reminded me of a project I started last winter. I was making kitty beds (or tiny dog, I guess) out of recycled thrift store wool sweaters (I was shrinking them down with hot water so that they were nice and felty - there's also a thrift store outlet here.... they sell stuff by the pound....). I was doing two styles, round ones and rectangle sleeves for putting over a pet bed warmer (my cats love their heated bed). It kind of went by the wayside when I broke my sewing machine.... so I never really got enough of them finished to think about finding someplace to perhaps sell them and I'm not even sure if anyone would want them or not. They are a bit rustic, but they are one of a kind and made out of all recycled materials (well, not the thread, but everything else).

[momof4greatkids]

My Mom rules.

I'm just pretty thrilled my Mom went out and did that for me.

I just want to say that your story about your mom's "arm warmer production facility" really warmed my HEART! First that you are obviously so proud and appreciative of your mom's efforts, and second, that you have such a super mom who would take such a great interest in looking after you. It's just so nice on so many levels, TFS!

Colleen

[Cataboo]

When I was young, my Mom used to hand me the Sears or Montgomery Ward catalog, have me point to a dress I like, and then when I woke up in the morning, she'd have made it in whatever fabric she had spare... No patterns, no anything.

But when fabric got more expensive, an outlet mall opened nearby, and she started working, she didn't really bother to sew much anymore...

And as I get older, there's less that my Mom can do for me or that I need her to do for me - so things like this make her really happy, she's helping me make something for something I like doing, even if she doesn't understand why I'm doing it. She knows I know how to sew, because she taught me how to when I was young - and I'd have never asked her to make them for me, she just got excited, and started making them for me.

I took pictures of the inside of the warmers, but I've been a bum and haven't gotten them off the camera yet. Tonight maybe.

[Cataboo]

Eden, those are really cute - I don't have a dog or cat though.

[AnnieBikes]

One of the ladies that I cycled the Underground Railroad with uses winter weight tights, cuts the feet off them and makes arm warmers. Some of them have light fleece on the inside. She also said that some of them have no feet so then you don't have to cut them off!!

I bought a long underwear shirt and cut the arms off them for arm warmers, then I use the "vest" which is left under my cycling shirt if it is really cold for an extra layer. I bought a slightly smaller size than what I normally wear so it fits tight. When I wore it recently, I was amazed at how warm my core stayed with that extra layer.

The arm warmers worked great, not too heavy, and they fit my arms well. I may look into some sport elastic that is kind of "sticky" like expensive arm warmers just to keep from having to pull them up so much.

[PamNY]

Catriona, those arm warmers (and the other things) are lovely. It's lovely that your Mom wanted to do that for you.

Eden, I love the cat/small dog beds. Is there anything in the edge piece to give it some heft, or is that simply a roll of wool? I would love to make some like that (if I can think of anyone who has a small animal -- everyone I know tends toward the big dogs). Also, can you wash the wool after you've felted it like that?

Pam

[Eden]

Catriona, those arm warmers (and the other things) are lovely. It's lovely that your Mom wanted to do that for you.

Eden, I love the cat/small dog beds. Is there anything in the edge piece to give it some heft, or is that simply a roll of wool? I would love to make some like that (if I can think of anyone who has a small animal -- everyone I know tends toward the big dogs). Also, can you wash the wool after you've felted it like that?

Pam

the sides are the sweater sleeves trimmed down and folded into thirds or fourths depending on the width of the sleeve. I stuffed the corduroy pieces with sweater scraps. Sewing those is how I broke the machine.... (I've had it fixed since then) They are small and thick enough to have pretty good stiffness. I haven't washed any of them after I put them together, but I assume if I've sewn them well enough they should wash fine. I've already shrunken the wool quite a bit with hot water and a hot dryer.