Adorable DIY Ear Warmers

How gorgeous are these ear warmers?? I love all the different styles you can make from one tute as well. When I spied these on Delia Creates I just had to beg Delia to share the DIY with you, and lucky us, she agreed! Take it away Delia:

With autumn here and winter right around the corner, it is the perfect time to make these easy ear warmers! These are so fun and quick to make, you may want to make four...like I did! All it takes is an old wool sweater or 1/4 yard of fleece, scissors, thread, and a sewing machine. Pretty simple. For this one I used an old wool sweater that got ruined in the wash and became semi-felted.


For this one I added some pleats up the side and added some flowers.


For this one I used a sleeve off an old thermal knit shirt.


And this one is fleece with a matching knit fabric sewn over it and a nice pretty recycled knit bow.


You're so excited now right?  And can't you see some cute mini-ear warmers for your tot?  You could totally make a boy version too.  Check out the full Ear Warmer DIY after the jump, and also visit Delia over at Delia Creates for a lot of other amazing tutes!

And remember to leave Delia a comment, because this week's favorite commenter wins those gorgeous embroidery patterns pictured up on the left!

DIY Ear Warmers

The idea is pretty simple. You start with a piece of felted wool or fleece cut to these measurements:

Taper the ends to an ending width of about 1 1/2 inches wide.

Add pleats if you so desire. Go here for more information on that.

Fold the sides under and sew.


Add a button hole and a button at the ends.


My button hole skills need work but as you can see I just make a rectangle with a zig zag stitch and then cut a slit in the middle of that rectangle.


Embellish to your hearts delight.


For this wool ear warmer I cut randomly shaped flowers, stacked them, and then placed them cascading to one side.


I simply hand sewed each stack of flowers right through the center and pulled it tight so the flowers would pucker up a bit.


I used the same technique for the other two flowered ear warmers; but also added a few extra hidden stitches to the thermal knit one to hold the large flower in place so it wouldn't flop around.


The bow is done similarly but with a lot of hidden hand sewn stitches at the back of the bow. I made about 10 doubled up stitches at the back of this one. I would just do one stitch, go through twice or more, knot it off and then move onto the next one.


All done.



These are a great gift...I myself, am making some for family this Christmas...and they very inexpensive. If you can't recycle an old sweater for free, you can purchase the fleece for about $1 since you will only need at the most 1/4  yard. Got to love that.


First off, this is an adorable DIY right?  And second off, could Miss Delia herself be any cuter??  I love this!  Let her know what you think in the comments!  it will make her feel good, and it could also win you this week's surprise prize!