Mittens Pattern Maker
Mittens made from fleece or knit are warm. Pick a size or enter the hand length and palm measurement, and the hand and thumb pieces are drawn with room for the ease you set.
Choose a thumb or go thumbless, a rib or hemmed cuff, wrist elastic, and a lining.
Make it yours: Measure your own hand, then change the length, cuff and thumb.
Make this pattern in your size →What you can change
Size
- Cuff length: 1.5–15 cm (⅝–5⅞″). Below the wrist crease: the rib band’s depth, or how far the hemmed cuff reaches.
- Fingertip room: 0.5–4 cm (¼–1⅝″). Extra length past the tip of the middle finger.
Sizes are typed in centimetres, millimetres or inches. The starting size is Cuff length 6 cm (2⅜″), Fingertip room 1.5 cm (⅝″).
Options
- Size: 0–6 months, 6–12 months, 1–2 years, 3–4 years, 5–6 years, 7–8 years, XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL or measured
- Cuff: rib band or hemmed
- Switches: Thumb, Wrist elastic, Lined
- Measurements and counts: Hand length, Palm, Ease round the hand
Starting points
These are sizes and settings to begin from, and every one stays fully editable. Type your own measurements, or start from the nearest one.
| Starting point | Finished size, cm | Same starting point in round inches |
|---|---|---|
| Adult M | palm 20 cm + 2.5 cm ease · hand 18.5 cm | palm 7⅞″ + 1″ ease · hand ≈7¼″ |
| Adult S | palm 18.5 cm + 2.5 cm ease · hand 17.5 cm | palm ≈7¼″ + 1″ ease · hand ≈6⅞″ |
| Adult L | palm 21.5 cm + 2.5 cm ease · hand 19.5 cm | palm ≈8½″ + 1″ ease · hand ≈7⅝″ |
| Adult XL | palm 23 cm + 2.5 cm ease · hand 20.5 cm | palm ≈9″ + 1″ ease · hand ≈8⅛″ |
| Lined mittens · adult M | palm 20 cm + 3 cm ease · hand 18.5 cm | palm 7⅞″ + ≈1⅛″ ease · hand ≈7¼″ |
| Child 1–2 years | palm 12 cm + 2 cm ease · hand 10.5 cm | palm ≈4¾″ + ≈¾″ ease · hand ≈4⅛″ |
| Child 3–4 years | palm 13.5 cm + 2 cm ease · hand 11.5 cm | palm ≈5⅜″ + ≈¾″ ease · hand ≈4½″ |
| Child 5–6 years | palm 14.5 cm + 2 cm ease · hand 12.5 cm | palm ≈5¾″ + ≈¾″ ease · hand ≈4⅞″ |
| Baby thumbless · 6–12 months | palm 11 cm + 2 cm ease · hand 9.5 cm · no thumb | palm ≈4⅜″ + ≈¾″ ease · hand ≈3¾″ · no thumb |
Cutting list
At the starting size (Cuff length 6 cm (2⅜″), Fingertip room 1.5 cm (⅝″)) the pattern has these pieces. Fabric sizes include seam allowance, interfacing is cut to the stitching line, and pieces cut on the fold are shown opened out. Each size is the width and height of the piece as cut.
| Piece | Fabric | Cut | Size to cut | How |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand | Main fabric | 4 | up to 13.25 × 22 cm (up to ≈5¼ × ≈8⅝″) | Shaped: cut from the printed piece |
| Thumb | Main fabric | 2 | up to 14.48 × 11.93 cm (up to ≈5¾ × ≈4¾″) | Shaped: cut from the printed piece |
| Cuff band | Main fabric | 2 | 17 × 14 cm (≈6¾ × ≈5½″) | Rectangle: cut by measurement or from the print |
You will also need: Thread; Ribbing. The cover page and materials list give the amounts for your size.
The maker’s fabric estimate at this size: Main fabric about 0.4 m of 112 cm fabric.
How it goes together
These are the maker’s own instructions at the starting size. They change with the options you pick, and the PDF carries the full set with the cover, cutting list and materials list.
- Check the size against your hand before sewing: the finished mitten is 22.5 cm round (20 cm palm + 2.5 cm ease) and 1.5 cm longer than your hand past the wrist line.
- Thumbs: fold each thumb right sides together on its fold line, edges level. Sew from the base corner up the side and round the tip to the fold, at 1 cm. Trim the tip’s allowance and leave the thumbs wrong side out for now.
- Put two hand pieces right sides together and sew from the lower edge up one side, over the top and down the other side. Leave the side seam open between the thumb notches on one side only: on the left for one mitten and the right for the other, so they make a pair. Backstitch at the notches and notch the curved allowance.
- Set in the thumb. Turn the thumb right side out. With the mitten still wrong side out, push the thumb into the mitten through the gap, tip first, until its base edge lines up with the gap’s two edges, right sides together. Put the thumb’s seam at the lower notch and its fold at the upper notch, and sew round the gap at 1 cm, easing the base to fit. Sew a second row inside the allowance for strength.
- Turn the mittens right side out.
- Cuffs: fold each band right sides together, short ends meeting, and sew the ends at 1 cm to make a ring. Fold it in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, raw edges level. Mark quarters on the band and on the mitten’s lower edge (the side seams and the middle of each piece).
- Slip the band over the mitten, raw edges level and quarter marks matching, and sew at 1 cm with a stretch stitch, stretching the band to fit as you go. Press the seam towards the mitten.
- Try a mitten on: the thumb should sit at the base of your thumb and the top clear your fingertips. Adjust the ease or the fingertip room before cutting more pairs.
Fabric suggestions
Outer: Polar fleece, sweater knit, boiled or felted wool; or a windproof shell (nylon, waxed cotton) over a soft lining.
Lining: Thin fleece, jersey or flannel. Line any fabric that doesn’t stretch.
Interfacing, padding or other layers: None. A rib cuff or wrist elastic keeps them on.
How each fabric family suits it
- Stable woven: possible, with care. A woven doesn’t stretch round the hand and thumb: add 1–2 cm (½–¾″) more ease, line it, and use a rib cuff.
- Heavy or stiff: possible, with care. Waxed cotton or soft faux leather makes a weatherproof shell: add ease and line it with fleece. Stiff canvas is too hard to turn.
- Stretchy knit: great choice. Fleece is the classic: warm, it doesn’t fray, and it stretches round the thumb. Sew with a narrow zigzag or stretch stitch.
- Slippery or fine: possible, with care. Nylon or ripstop works as a windproof shell over a fleece lining. Add ease: it doesn’t stretch.
The maker’s advice adjusts to the fabric family you pick in the Fabric tab.
Printing it
At the starting size the printed pieces take 2 A4 pages, taped together using the page labels, alignment marks and page map. For a print shop, choose a sheet from A0 to a 36″ roll: the pieces are packed onto as few sheets as they will fit on, and if one is too big for the sheet the maker says so. How printing, tiling and the test square work.
Frequently asked questions
What size can I make?
The mittens pattern takes cuff length from 1.5–15 cm (⅝–5⅞″); fingertip room from 0.5–4 cm (¼–1⅝″). It starts at Cuff length 6 cm (2⅜″), Fingertip room 1.5 cm (⅝″), and you can work in centimetres, millimetres or inches. There are 9 starting points to begin from (Adult M, Adult S, Adult L, Adult XL, Lined mittens · adult M, Child 1–2 years, Child 3–4 years, Child 5–6 years, Baby thumbless · 6–12 months). Every starting point stays fully editable.
Which fabric suits the mittens pattern?
Polar fleece, sweater knit, boiled or felted wool; or a windproof shell (nylon, waxed cotton) over a soft lining. In the maker’s fabric advice, stretchy knit is a great choice; stable woven, heavy or stiff and slippery or fine are possible with care.
Are there child or baby sizes?
Yes: Child 1–2 years (palm 12 cm + 2 cm ease · hand 10.5 cm), Child 3–4 years (palm 13.5 cm + 2 cm ease · hand 11.5 cm), Child 5–6 years (palm 14.5 cm + 2 cm ease · hand 12.5 cm) and Baby thumbless · 6–12 months (palm 11 cm + 2 cm ease · hand 9.5 cm · no thumb). They are starting points, not a promise of fit, and every measurement can be changed. Check the fit yourself, and check the finished item for anything small, loose or long enough to catch, before a child wears or uses it.