appliqué: a decorative design made of one material sewn over another
You'll need: a pair of store-bought mittens, some felt (I used some scraps from a felted sweater), embroidery floss, and a teensy bit of fiber fill.
Cut the shape you're going to appliqué from felt. Embroider the design of your choice on the felt.
I used what I think is called the stem stitch to freehand the lettering, however it might be called the back stitch or the split stitch, or it might simply be a stitch of my own creation, since I can't seem to find anything exactly like it out there in Internet-land.
Use a blanket stitch to attach the appliqué to the mitten. Right before completing the last few stitches, stuff a small amount of fiberfill under the applique to give it a bit of puff.
These mittens were made for Mel over at Lazy Daisy Crochet for the Valentine's Initial Heart Swap. From Mel's blog, I knew that she already knew how to crochet, so I had to think of something a little different to gift her.
If you're looking to learn more about embroidery (and how simple and economical it is!), there's a great Embroidery 101 crash course at instructables.com
I'm sharing this post at Craft Envy , Craft-o-Maniac, and Not Just A Housewife.