I agree with Pat on knitting socks. It really feels good to put on custom made socks that fit your feet. You just have to jump in and do it.  You can learn the technique first by starting out with one sock using a ball of scrap yarn; this can become a Christmas stocking later. The top and the foot area are just tubes; learning the heel part is the challenge, and the toe is a little difficult, but once all is mastered the rewards are great. There are dozens and dozens of sock patterns available on the internet; 2 good sites are www.knittingpatterncentral.com and www.knitty.com. E

 

 

Thank you for the mitten link, My Family's Interests...put the sweater thru the dryer once... it is semi- felted...am excited about trying this project! : )

I used the sleeves/cuffs of the sweater to make one  pair. They are comfortable, form-fitting and not  traditionally 'mittenish' in appearance. Am going to try another pair by modifying this pattern....  www.barlowscientific.com/technotes/home/mittens.htm   think there's enough for a couple more pairs- there's a heavy shawl collar that will make nice cuffs and sub for the elastic

I make all kinds of things from old wool sweaters(some felted some not), cloth diaper covers and pants, mittens and hats.  If you felt them they won't unravel. 

I made a rice heating pack yesterday.

momto2,

I saw some of the wool diaper covers online and (almost) wished I still had a kid in diapers - what a great idea!

I found a sweater in the thrift store this past fall, it is a bright red raglan sleeve style, is already felted - says it is genuine Irish fisherman style ?, the price tag is still on it; $59. I feel a little guilty about cutting it up, but think the reason it was donated is because it's incredibly stiff and uncomfortable as a sweater...but it would make a truly nice hat and mitten set...with some leftovers for rice pillows : )

Sweaters pillows are a big thing now too. If it is a sweater with alot of cables or an irish knit to make an interesting pillow front.

I remember a few years ago Christpher Lowell (remember him?) did a show that featured the rustic cabin style, and he used sweaters for pillow covers, and used the buttoned front down the middle of the sweater for the front of the pillow.  Very cute!  I bought a tapestry table runner on clearance after last Christmas in to make pillow covers out of it.   It had four motifs of Santa in a row,  I  cut those apart, made a border and backing out of christmas fabric, and have some great holiday pillow covers.

Be careful if you use the sweater to make a rice bag because it will cinge/burn in the microwave.  I have dyed wool in the microwave and had an awful smell that almost burned.

Any extra wool sweater material makes great door and window "stuffers".  I bought a felted sweater at a yard sale for a quarter and made two pairs of mittens out of it.  Was gonna pitch the remnant until I found it fit a door-crack perfectly!  Now the upper half of the sweater is over the top of an ill-fitting door and another length is rolled up inside the mail slot in the same door - best draft-stoppers I've ever had...Liz

I do medieval re-enacting, so I'm constantly full of projects.  I make all of mine and my husband's medieval clothes (also his 18th century clothes as well), and I make many of my clothes for work too. 

I finished a little sampler embroidery this week that I started on in a class last weekend.  It was raised Elizabethan embroidery.  I had been wondering how people did stuffed or raised embroidery, and now I know.  I'm just putting the final touches on a cloth belt that has couching embroidery on it.  Sunday I am going to get started on making my husband some peasant clothing (he insists on having them!  Normally I make him high-end clothing, but he says he can't work in that when he needs to work). 

I have a serger, but the smallest serge I seem capable of putting on it is 1/4" wide.  This is what I use for everything I sew.  However, I am interested in the serged decorative edges you see on napkins and things like that that is teeny-tiny.  As in a millimeter or two wide.  My grandmother was showing me some curtains her sister-in-law made for her, and they were all edged like this, so I know there's a machine for home sewing that will do it, but I don't know what to look for.