I should mention my posting has been light as I have been ill, a bit more serious than the flu but I’m recovering. I should be back to normal soon. Thanks to Mike and Zoe for covering for me.

Jinjer reminds me to clean up this ongoing project. We’ve had several entries into the mitten design contest but it’s time to move on, spring is coming. Let’s set a deadline, say February 14th, Valentine’s Day. That leaves you two weeks to get your project in and you may enter as many times as you like. As mentioned before, the contest is to design your own pattern and sew up a snazzy pair of mittens. The pattern design portion -as participants have found- is not so easy as it looks which is why I picked it. I would like to see some entries with interesting design effects. I’m surprised we haven’t had more design elements; I guess everyone’s been focusing on the pattern design. I will be sewing up a pair too, probably some embossed calf grain so be forewarned to do something wild and best my entry (please). The winner gets the unadulterated adulation from all of us as well as a copy of The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Sewn Product Manufacturing. By entering, you agree to make your pattern available as a free download.

Here is Jinjer’s entry. Her pattern is interesting but my thinking must be foggy because I can’t seem to wrap my head around how it goes together.

Jinjer writes:

I made these of alpaca, with a wool/rayon knit lining for my mother-in-law for Christmas. I don’t know why it took me so long to send you photos. Here’s the basic pattern. I added the pintucks on the back of the hand and the tack under the thumb after I scanned in this pattern. And I added seam allowance, hem and a lining pattern. So it’s not the EXACT pattern. It’s designed so that the finger and thumb curl slightly towards the palm, the way fingers and thumbs do. I’m also pretty happy with the range of motion allowed for the thumb.

The last pattern piece is here.