Fuzzy Embroidered Winter Handwarmer

Don't go into the winter wonderland without this cozy Winter Handwarmer! Perfect for those icy, blustery, winter activities.

Customize the handwarmer by choosing your favorite embroidery design and coordinating furry fabric.

Read through these cool project instructions below.

To begin, cut a piece of the faux fur 22 inches wide by 15 inches high (mark the shape on the backside of the fur before cutting).

If you have embroidery software, create a paper template of the design by printing it at full size. If you don't have embroidery software, you can cut a piece of paper the shape and dimensions of the design.

Cut around the design for easy placement. Lay the fur right side up, with the long edges on the top and bottom and position the template in the center of the fabric. Center the template exactly by measuring equal distances from the center point on the design with the top, bottom, and side edges.

The fur on the area to be embroidered should be no longer than 1/4 inch high. If yours is shaggier than that, you'll need to give it a little trim with a small pair of scissors. 

Rub the fur the wrong way around the edges of the template to make it stand up.  Then, carefully clip the fur around the edges of the template to about 1/4 inch high. Remove the template, and trim the inside area as well.

Lay the template back on the trimmed area of the fur. Using an air-erase pen (or other marking tool), poke a hole in the center of the template and mark the fabric. Mark the horizontal and vertical axis points as well. These marks will be used for hooping.

Spray a piece of cutaway stabilizer with temporary adhesive and smooth it on the wrong side of the fur right over the area to be embroidered. 

Cut a piece of heavy weight water soluble stabilizer (we prefer Sulky Ultra Solvy) and place it over the area to be embroidered on the right side of the fur.

Hoop all three layers together (cutaway stabilizer, fur, and water soluble stabilizer) by "eyeballing" the marks on the fur with the marks on the hoop. Attach the hoop to the machine and load the design.  Move the needle so that it is directly over the center point on the fur. 

Embroider the design.

After the design has finished, carefully tear away the water soluble stabilizer from around the design. If there are any small bits of stabilizer left behind you can use a tweezers to pick them out. Also, the fur can be soaked in warm water to completely remove the stabilizer. 

Click here to read more about embroidering on faux fur.

Trim away the excess cutaway stabilizer on the back of the embroidery.

Now it is time to assemble the warmer! 

Align the short ends of the fur with the right sides together and pin in place.

Sew a 1/2 inch seam along the pinned edge only. We are using a walking foot on our machine, this prevents the layers of fabric from shifting as the foot passes over them.

Turn the fabric right side out.  Then, bring the raw edges together with the right sides together as shown (align the side seam together as well).  Pin in place along the raw edges. Sew a 1/2 inch seam along the pinned edge. Be sure to leave about 5 inches open for turning. We left 5 inches open to one side of the side seam.

Turn the warmer right side out through the opening. Hand stitch the opening closed with needle and thread. Be careful to stitch through the top layers only.

Push the seam to the inside of the warmer so that the design is centered on the outside and your hand warmer is complete!