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Last year my craft group made over 100 fleece scarves for charity. I was thinking how I could use fleece another way in nursing homes. After much pondering I thought a muff might be nice since everyone has cold hands. I took a rectangle of fleece and basted a smaller rectangle of batting into it. I then stitched the sides, turned it and stitched it to form a tube. I tried various patterns but they were very time consuming but perfect for faux fur or satin. I didn't like the satin so instead went with fleece inside and outside. The last hidden seam was the hardest and a pain to finish it clean by stitching it closed by hand. So by using fleece I didn't have to worry about fraying and simply cut the original rectangle large enough so I could cut some fringe. Looks like decoration but it's actually laziness. LOL I'm showing my craft group my six prototypes. This was my favorite because it's the easiest.

By the way the faux fur is on sale at JoAnns and I do want to make a couple of muffs for gifts using the lovely ones they have. My daughter is too young to have had one when she was a child but she might enjoy one now. The one that looks like mink is heavenly. Can't be thrown in a washer and dryer like the fleece though. At 50% off it's a great price plus I think we got a 25% purchase coupon. JoAnns.com has the pattern for the fur muff.

Someone recently made muffs for her DH who is a hunter. That way it was easy for him to pull his hands out when it was ready to shoot & didn't have to deal with gloves. These would be great for the men in the nursing home made of camo fleece or "guy" fleece.

wonderful idea

Very good idea!

Evelyn, you always come up with the cleverest ideas. Thanks for showing and telling us about your process. Great idea for many people.

I worked in a nursing home and trying to get gloves on an arthritic hand was really a struggle for my residents. Too bad I didn't think about this for them. They need hand coverings when going to the doctors. Thanks for the idea. I might make some to take there just because it is a great idea. Pat

I could have used one of those last night, when I was outside during Trick or Treating! I ended up pulling 2 left gloves out of the bin in the garage. That was interesting to wear & try to hand out candy at the same time!

Oooo...light bulb just went off over my head...wonder if you could make an inside pocket for one of those microwave heat pad thingies? I just bought a little Ace one & I'll bet it would fit nicely in something like that!

It would be easy to put in a pocket since it's a flat rectangle until the last seam. Great idea for a rice bag too. I hadn't thought about those poor arthritic hands. I have one toe with arthritis and putting on a sock is so painful. It might be a problem with a walker so I'm thinking about sewing in a neck cord.'evelyn

Good idea Evelyn and Starry Sky, Ilike the cord and the rice bag idea. But it shouldn't be too heavy.

Two ladies in my craft group say their Sunday services are so cold that they'd love them. Hate to wear gloves there.

I love it! great idea! I just made 30+ fleece scarves for a 2nd grade class, in a poorer section of town. They just loved them! I also took 6" off each end and sewed it on top as a pocket.

i really would like to make some of these muffs for some of the older ladies i crochet with!

Ah Kim, what a great idea for the pocket

How wonderful! Kids lose their gloves (if they could afford them). These are a great way to keep tiny hands warm. Love the idea! TFS Bought more fur and fleece to make more too.

Kim - was wondering how long and how wide you cut your fleece for the scarves? Have scrap fleece to use up and could make some for the local Mitten Tree. Thanks!
Joan

I "found" a box full of fleece - if any of you would like it for your scarf, mitten etc. for the needy projects let me know. I'll send you what I have. I'm guessing I will never get around to useing it and would love to see it put to good use.

Just send me a PM with an address. I can take some pictures if you would like when I'm home Friday afternoon.

I think I mentioned it somewhere else but two winters ago I made pullover scarves from fleece. They can be scrunched down to wear just around the neck or pulled up to cover the head like a hoodie, or pulled up to cover the lower part of the face. I put a small piece of elastic in the front for pulling up over the face so it would stay close.

They went over real well.

The fringe on your muffs looks cute. Your muffs are cute!!! And you are very creative.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: paus4quilts,

for the kids, 7" by WOF (fleece) i cut off the ends and attached pockets. For adults, i went 8 or 9 inches by WOF. i think most store bought scarves in the stores run 50/55 inches? you can make fleece mittens too out of your scraps. remember, there are small kids that go the the soup kitchens. my leftover ends of the fleece i cut,about 4" i cut them in half (WOF) for the little ones. no waste when it comes to warmth!

Thanks for the info, Kim.
Evelyn, great idea for the muffs.
Paus, I love infinity scarves, similar to the ones you made. You don't have to be constantly retying or repositioning it. I'm not a hat person, so these scarves do double duty when needed.

Quiltinana, I loved the idea of those scarves when I first saw the directions. Thought of my son out there blowing snow around his place, big place, lots of driveway. He was always trying to keep a regular scarf around his neck and face. And I thought it an absolutely great idea for kids.

I have several cut and ready to sew for the local shelter for this winter.