Winter Accessory Extravaganza! Part 1

As promised: A collection of winter accessories I made this year - ideas, how-to, inspiration....

Years ago I knitted accessories like wrist and leg warmers for myself and as gifts for my girlfriends. However, I got tired of it fast and never really considered making them again. As much as knit is hip at the moment, I somehow don't see knitted wrist and leg warmers as a fashion statement right now :-)  So I jumped on the wagon of leather bracelets, wrapped around the wrist several times, added some fabric and faux fur, and voilà, up-to-date winter accessories that are made within no time! These are super quick projects to glam up an outfit, to make a personal gift for a dear friend or just to give you a reason to like winter....

Read on for the making-of pictures and explanations!



THE LEATHER-FUR WRIST DARLINGS:

These have already become my favorites... Gather up whatever left-overs faux fur and wool fabrics you have, also fleece is great. Then see what old bags and belts you find in your closet and dig them out. What could be used? Any strap, handle, belt buckle can turn into a great accessory highlight!

 

I even found a real-fur pillowcase that had been cut up to mend a teddy...

Sew together two rectangles, make sure they are wide enough to slip over your hand if you close them up like I did in this case!

I added some real fur between the outside and inside parts, folded it lengthwise and sewed it together so it became a tube. Then I folded it along the furry bit to get a tube like in the picture:

 

I then zig-zagged that last seam shut - on faux fur and fleece I find that works fine and looks good enough, because the stitches disappear in the fabric:

Now all you need are some straps to wrap around. I had really old leather straps from an old school bag. You could add "belt loops" if you wanted. These are even wearable on both sides, so you could play around with some colors.

 Done!

THE LEG WARMERS THAT MAKE YOU MIAU:

These are sewn up almost like a pillow case.

Leave two openings, one at the top on one side, one at the bottom of the other. This is not only to turn it outside-in after sewing, but also to put the belt parts in. You need a long strap with holes and a short one with a buckle.
I made them out of leather left-overs and two identical belt buckles I had. They are hand-stitched with a leather needle, which took no time at all. You could also make them out of denim or other types of fabric instead.

 Don't forget to mirror the other one:

 I love how they can make ankle boots look like high boots:

In the photo below I am even wearing them with high heels that would normally not be suitable for the colder season. It sure was cheaper than buying a pair of furry boots with real leather straps!

THE WELL-I-LIKE-IT HAT

This little hat could definitely be considered a little strange. But for whatever reason, I find it adorable... aside from that, the real fur I added (from the above mentioned pillow case) is so incredibly soft that I've actually been wearing this thing around the house lately...

I started with the center piece, a rectangle with a rounded off side, out of black fleece:

Then I did something weird: I pinned a piece of muslin to it, put it on my head and actually drew the desired shape right onto my head - well, the muslin :-)

The pattern piece came out like this...

I added seam allowances where needed, cut it out in fleece and sewed it together with a big old french seam - first, right sides together:

...then enclose those seam allowances and sew again from the right side:

This created the two big old bumpy style lines you see below. Haha. I put it on my head and decided it needed a dart in the back (where the pin is):

My fur pieces were really small and I pieced them together to add them around the edge of the cap on the inside:

The rest of the inside was sewn up from regular lining fabric (the side pieces look different, because the fur made up the rest of them):

From the side it actually looks a bit like a helmet. Maybe I made the back too high, but worn with a scarf it is a really nice little cap. Well, I like it! ;-)

Here is the link to PART TWO, where I'm showing you the making of the GLAM-ME-UP WRIST WARMERS, the RIDICULOUSLY QUICK LEG WARMERS,  and the ZIP-ME-IN CUFFS:

Have a great day!

Best,

Katja