A Giant Mitten...for The Mitten Book!

It seems each year around this time I pull out the book "The Mitten" by Jan Brett.  It gives us a continued chance to talk about winter weather gear (mittens, hats, coats etc) and since it is so cold around here in January it gives us an excuse to enjoy an interactive book surrounding the snow!

In this photo you can't see the large bear and fox that take up most of the room in the mitten :) 
All the other stuffed animals are very small.

Previously, we've told the story of the Mitten by using a large white pillowcase and stuffed animals.  When I pulled it out again this year to bring it to school, I decided to try to create a more "mitten-like" case for the animals to sit in.  


I left the top very square to accomodate the larger stuffed animals and made the "thumb-space" small since I didn't want to have to fish out small stuffed animals from that area :)

So, I cut the pillowcase into a semi-mitten-like shape and sewed up the sides.  I added some Velcro at the bottom to hold it closed while transporting the "mitten"  and all the animals and attached some leftover material as a rudimentary handle to the mitten.  The entire project took me less than 20 minutes (and my sewing skills are extremelly limited). 

The velcro strips I sewed in place at the opening.

Now, a note about our stuffed animals.  Even after searching for a "mole" and a "badger" for our story-telling, I have yet to find either of these animals as a stuffed animal.  (Has anyone ever seen a mole or a badger stuffed animal?)

 

 

So, we use a raccoon for the badger and a hamster for a mole!  The real fun of the story is how many animals wedge themselves into a tiny mitten so I'm not too worried about the authenticity of all the stuffed animals. :)

 

Since I wanted to keep as much room as possible for the animals (the stuffed fox and bear I have take up most of the room in the mitten) the shape is a bit odd!  But, I do think it will give the kids a bit more of an idea that this is supposed to be a mitten...not a pillowcase! 

Now, I'm just excited to try out our new "mitten" for The Mitten at school this week!