Tutorial: Wristwarmers from socks

Looking at my stupid non-functional Raynaud hands yesterday, I was thinking that I needed to make something that I could wear to take the chill off my hands but would still allow me usable fingers. With Raynaud's, I can get the palms of my hands warmer by holding onto hot drinks but the backs of my hands are always freezing and it really does affect my total feeling of coldness. So out came the long socks... and in less than twenty minutes I looked like a total hobo. I asked Steven what he thought and he said, 'It depends, are you going to wear them out of the house?' That's the beauty of these wristwarmers: I can still give him the finger. Take that, mittens.

So here's how:

• Take your socks out. I'm using over the knee socks so I can pull them right up or slouch them for double thickness on my forearms. Cut them off just below the heel.
• Then cut them again right above the heel.
• Then cut them again right below the toe seam.
• So now you have a long sock with an open end and a smaller tube.

• Turn the band inside out and slip it over the sock (right sides facing) so the raw edges align at the top. Pin the layers together but leave one inch unpinned on both sides (so 2 inches total). This is where your thumb is going to go. If you have socks that only have a pattern on the top of the leg, well done, they sound cool. But remember that you'll need to make right and left ones so the unpinned bit should be on opposite sides.
• Sew through the layers with at least a 3/8" seam allowance. Remember to use a stretch stitch (that's the little lightning bolt to those of use lucky enough to have it) or a narrow zigzag because you don't want to lose the stretch of the sock.
• Remember to leave that two inches open (one inch to front and one inch to back)!
• At the two inch opening, fold down the raw edges and pin. This is where you'll be grateful for using a large seam allowance earlier.
• Sew this raw edge down along the length of the thumb hole. This takes a little bit of maneuvering to keep the other fabric out of the way. Remember that stretchy stitch.
• Repeat the process of folding down the seam allowance and pinning on the other side of your thumb opening and then sew that down.
• Fold the raw edge of the band back into the cuff and pin. Sew a couple of tacking stitches back and forth on both sides to secure it down. I did it this way because I want an open flap to stick heating pads in. If you don't have chronic-cold-back-of-the-hand-itis, you could probably double fold it under and stitch for a neater finish.
• You're done. Now go beg for money.
  

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