Winter mitts (fur)... Cold weather gear... (1 Viewer)

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Im gonna show off some pics of a set of mitts I made. Perhaps some of you want to show your gear, post up your own.

Pics first, then more text after if your interested.

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So, the material(s) are: buckskin that belonged to my uncle and I got it when he passed, glued to shearling (soft sheeps wool shaved to about 3/8" on the hide/leather) for the inside liner, and then on top muskrat, a rodent similar to the beaver that is destructive to some shore habitats. Muskrat fur is waterproof in the way that beaver is, the layers on top of each other make a thick and warm mitt, ideal for sitting around outdoors in the snow. Would be good for winter football games actually.

The fella in the picture is a leather guy "little lion man leather" and a neighbour who let me come use his shop, I hand stitched the mitts to his preferred method, with a double hand stitch, which is where there are two needles, one on either end of the string, this is more work and slower but is stronger, and won't "unzip" if a thread breaks and is easier to repair.

I made the mitts big, idea is to fit the cuffs of my winter jacket within the sleeves, instead of trimming the muskrat, I left the fur up to and including the head, you can kind of see its head and whiskers in the pictures. The gloves are quite big, they look big in the picture, part of that is camera angle, but the fella modeling them is a lanky 6'8" tall. These will fit me up to my elbows. Ill have to get out ice fishing to properly appreciate them this winter. Still need to season them with needsfoot oil, and then I'm gonna make a set with beaver shearling and coyote fur for the wife for Christmas (don't tell her!)


Making the gloves probably took about 6 hours of time, hanging out and drinking wine or G&T with a buddy and shootin the sh!t makes it a fun process, and about an hour of time was needed to get the template sorted out. The materials for my set are probably about $140, not including the buckskin. I have heard elk or moose leather is stronger and better for the palms. If I didn't have buckskin sitting around I probably would have went that way. Either way, its a fun process. Cant wait to use them after I give the wife a set for Christmas Ill bring these out so I don't spoil the surprise.

If anyone else has some cool winter "kit" for hanging out in the cold weather, post up eh!
 
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I have an old set of arctic mitts from my survey days. You didn’t include a nose wipe on the
cuff, which sounds bad but as you know when it’s cold it’s really hard to get Kleenex
out of your pocket.
 
I have an old set of arctic mitts from my survey days. You didn’t include a nose wipe on the
cuff, which sounds bad but as you know when it’s cold it’s really hard to get Kleenex
out of your pocket.
Yeah, we used to call them "snowmobile mitts" that were the large gauntlets with shearling or some fluffy fabric on the top, they were marketed to snowmobilers when I was a kid and were fairly cheap and large and warm but I know what your talking about.

Its probably just not as trendy to be smearing your snot across your gloves these days, I suppose the fur on the top could achieve the purpose of wiping your face off, these aren't washable in the same way as modern fabrics obviously. Im gonna start on the second set this coming week, will try and make them purtier for the missus with some other furs I picked up.

Thanks for the kind words though!
 
If anyone else has some cool winter "kit" for hanging out in the cold weather, post up eh!

Not made but bought. Claims to be Russian rabbit. Don't know about that but it's crazy warm. For when I have to go out in less than Zero F.


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Not made but bought. Claims to be Russian rabbit. Don't know about that but it's crazy warm. For when I have to go out in less than Zero F.

Yeah looks good, never had one of those style of hats, but that looks warm. Leather on the outside? Maybe when I'm all done the other set of mitts I'll have to try something like that. Im starting to think maybe I should make a couple other sets to sell or gift after the "christmas set" are done. I should be able to slowly sew stuff together at home, I like to keep my hands busy if the TV is on or im not doing anything in the cold weather.
 
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Got the wifes set done before christmas just on time (hers above) and now I can wear my set without giving it away.

Turns out mine are warm AF, hands get sweaty when I used them to bike to work at -19C (-2F), this week has been down to -34C ( -22F) so Ive been taking the bus, but wearing them out to wait for it. Nice trial for the handy work. And I can put this thread to rest.

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I hope Jen's giving us all the mud salute. :flipoff2: :)

Are my eyes deceiving me, or do you have eye holes, whiskers and a nose on the muskrat mitts? Nice touch!
 
I hope Jen's giving us all the mud salute. :flipoff2: :)

Are my eyes deceiving me, or do you have eye holes, whiskers and a nose on the muskrat mitts? Nice touch!

Good eyes. Yes there be whiskers and eye holes. I like the character of that, you get to see what a muskrat looks like. It may not be as appealing as the fur of our national critter the beaver and is sort of non typical to a traditional design, but in hindsight I like that it gives the animal an identity instead of just being a piece of fur... I've been riding the bus this past week as its been down to -34C instead of riding the bike so I decided to wear these whilst waiting for the bus, it seems I get a compliment or comment every day I bring them out. The bus drivers seem to really like them, I think they mostly all had an accent and I assumed were from a warmer climate originally so there is probably a different appeal.

Myles did say I should put some rhinestones in his eyes, or maybe stitch big X's, but that seemed a bit tacky.

Edit: couldnt help myself, had to add some leather lace around the edge to finish it off. Completes the look though.

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Those are sweet mittens! Nice job. Whenever I go to a cold place I look for a pair of hand made mittens, but most of them are not made to be used. They just look pretty and don't seem like they will hold up.

The leather lace around the edge really finishes it off!
 

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