Oven mitts are often too thin to fully protect your fingers and thumbs. And on top of that, the rounded ends on an oven mitt can make it difficult to get underneath your pan in the oven. To fix those problems, here's how to make a "Shovel Mitt." The Shovel Mitt is an oven mitt with protective pads sewn into sensitive areas in the mitt and a spatula shovel extending from the end of the fingers.

Materials:

1- Cotton oven mitt

2-Nylon spatulas

1 spool- Outdoor quality thread

1- Leather quality needle

1- Thimble (optional)

2- Twill 5x7 patches

1- Seam ripper

Assorted Sewing Pins

Tin Snips

Step 1: Making the Pads

Using the tin snips cut the handle off one of the spatulas, removing the entire handle and hilt. Using tin snips cut the other spatula in half, leaving the handle and half the spatula intact while keeping the outer half of the spatula shovel. Shape this piece to the approximate size of your thumb.

Step 2: Making the Thumb

Take the twill patches and cut them to the size and shape of the spatula pieces you have made. Leave ¼” clearance around the ENTIRE spatula pieces. Using the seam ripper rip the oven mitt at the seams down to the palm on both the thumb and finger portions of the oven mitt. Sew the thumb patch, with the thumb piece inside, into the side of the inside of the oven mitt. (This may be easier to do if you sew ¾ of the patch into the mitt and then insert the piece and finish sewing the patch in place.) Sew the thumb portion of the mitt back together along the original seam.

Step 3: Making the Finger Shovel

.Sew the finger patch into the same side of the oven mitt that you did the thumb patch. Place the patch so that the spatula piece will extend from the end of the mitt ¾” when inserted into the patch pocket. DO NOT sew the spatula piece inside the patch. Leave a pocket that can be accessed from outside the mitt for the spatula piece to be inserted into/removed from. Be sure and make the patch seams feel like a normal oven mitt from the inside, but appear as if there is a pocket at the end of the fingers from the outside.

Step 4: Completing the Mitt

Sew the oven mitt hand back together at the seams up to the seams of the pocket you have created. DO NOT sew the pocket closed. In order to make a snug fit, it may be helpful to insert the spatula piece into the pocket so that you can sew the pocket tighter.

Upon completion, you should have an oven mitt which looks like a normal oven mitt except for the shovel end extending from the fingers. When the mitt is on your hand, it should feel and function basically the same way as a normal oven mitt. Your fingers and thumbs should have extra protection while also having a small spatula to assist in getting your hands under the dish you are removing from the oven.