Today is another reusable sweater project. In fact, you get TWO projects from one little sweater. Keep reading to find out how I made a super cute wine cozy and a pair of mitts from one $5 sweater I found at the thrift store.

There’s just so much you can do with an old sweater. If you’re on a budget this holiday or just like being thrifty, recycling, and giving handmade gifts or all of the above then you will like this project. I found this great old wool sweater that had a pretty classic winter theme and decided to make myself a pair of mitts. A sewing machine and basic sewing skills are handy but trust me, you don’t need to be a pro. Because you’re using a sweater, half of the work is already done for you. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this project and I hope some of my family and friends are looking at gift ideas for a seamstress now as my Christmas presents. I would love to make more of these and learn how to create new garments too so a seamstress gift would be great! Anyhow, here’s the breakdown of how to do it:

1 – place your hand on the sweater, using the bottom rim as the bottom of the mitt and trace an inch around it with chalk.
2 – cut out the mitt shape through both layers of the sweater so you’ll end up with two pieces.
3 – flip one of them over and trace to create the opposite hand, then cut out.
4 – you will end up with four pieces in total.
5 – make sure you pin your matching pieces so they won’t move when you sew them.
6 – sew around the outline of the mitt, leaving about 1/2 from the edge.

Turn those babies right side out and you got yourself a cozy new pair of mitts! The truth is if you’re smart about how you place your outlines you probably can get another pair out of this sweater.

But wait – you’re not done with this guy. What about those perfectly good sleeves? We can’t let them go to waste. How about turning them into cozy winter wine cozies? This one is super easy. There’s only two steps:

1 – cut the sleeve to the appropriate length and a circle for the base.
2 – sew the circle base to the bottom of the sleeve.

Done and done. Turn it right side out, put a pretty red bow on it and you have an awesome looking wine cozy for your host.

So if you’re counting and are strategic with your material usage this one $5 sweater can make you up to FOUR fabulous gifts. There’s a good deal.