But when you do go out to play in the snow, it can be hard equipping a toddler with gear that is both comfortable & warm. When my little girl was smaller last winter, I just bundled her up until she looked like the Marshmellow Man & didn't worry about how well she could move around. Because well, she wasn't able to move around much anyway. However, this year is very different, she wants to run and play in the snow, build a snowman, & go sledding. So the poor thing needs to be able to move her arms and use her hands.
We had a horrible time finding snow boots in her size that got the job done. NOTE: if you buy boots that look like they have a thin layer of felt on the bottom, your child will grow platform snowshoes as she walks & fall over after a few steps!! The boots we bought had some sort of microfiber something in the sole and they literally collected giant snowballs on the bottoms of her feet with just a few steps. They were awful & worthless for the snow. I finally found some at a consignment store that were her size, but unfortunately that was after the majority of our good sledding snow. But oh well, she still got to use them this year to build a great snowman!
And now on to the title of this post....the snow day mittens. All the waterproof type mittens for little ones were WAAAAAY too big for her. Her grandparents bought her some that she will grow into, but so far as really using her hands with them this year, not gonna happen. So I browsed a few patterns available for free online and pieced together a design that I am very happy with & it is relatively easy to adjust in size. Knowing what I know about wool yarn & the great properties of wool for cloth diapering, I figured you could get a pretty good water barrier out of a pair of tightly knit wool gloves. And thankfully I was right!! Wool is awesome in so many ways. Hunters already know that wool socks are great because they breathe while keeping your feet warm but not sweaty & if you get wool wet it still holds in your body heat. Unlike cotton & many other fabrics that once wet, you're also cold & wet.
I could go on about wool for a while and talk about the natural lanolin from sheep that acts as a moisture barrier & the antibacterial properties of wool, but I'll stop with this....
My daughter built this snowman with me and my hands were freezing (I haven't made any wool gloves for myself yet, but I will) she played in it, sat in it, made snowballs, etc & when we pulled these gloves off her hands were perfectly toasty. I was very pleased!!
If you knit and need help figuring out how to make a good pair let me know. If you don't knit, but would like a custom pair for your kids, I'd love to make some for you. Price will depend on size and style, but these gloves will last several seasons before they outgrow them & they should last forever to pass down to little brother & sister as long as the dog doesn't chew them up ;)
