Travel Crafting: Cozy Gloves!

The title is a bit misleading because there isn't going to be a second travel crafting post (at least not for this trip!).

Remember in London, at the end of the post I asked if anyone had any tips for layering because my poor hands were so freezing?  Well, in the next post I had a teaser for the solution to my problem!

And if for some reason you wanted to make your own, I'm even including a "tutorial."

Introducing my protection from frostbite, the polkadot thermal gloves!

Like I mentioned, we had been on Oxford Circus, looking around for gloves for me and a scarf for my friend, but there were only spring items in the stores.  Then, we went to Portobello Road where you can find just about anything!

They were selling gloves for 8 pounds, but I thought I could do better, especially when I saw Poundland (the UK version of the 99 Cent Only store!).

There were no gloves in stock (darn!), but I did walk out of there with a thank you gift for our host, lip balm in a lovely tin, and my glove materials...

They're children's thermal socks!!!

I got home, and turned it inside out.  It looks so hairy inside, but it kept me suuuper warm and didn't get damaged over the 4 week trip!

I didn't have my sewing basket along, or even a pair of scissors, so I used the only item I had that would work...  a nail clipper!

I clipped right along the toe seam, and it was fairly easy to remove.

Repeat for both socks, and voila!

I wore them "upside down" putting my arms through the toe end.  It didn't unravel, which is good because I didn't have access to a thread and needle.

It kept my fingers really warm even though it was completely open.  I would just bunch up the sock around my fingers like a turtle when it was colder.  Then if it got warmer (never!) or I needed access to something quickly like a Tube ticket, I would push them back into my jacket like a sleeve, and they would still provide extra warmth on my forearms!

*Bonus* On public transportation, they were a great shield for when I had to grab onto a pole in the middle of the train car.

I'm glad that I was resourceful enough to figure out a solution to my dilemma without buying ugly, expensive gloves that weren't super warm anyways!

What's the weirdest thing you've crafted outside of your craft room?