As the sunshine blazes through my double glazing I’m thinking perhaps it’s not the best time to be writing about woolly gloves but the story of Mouthy Mitts is great and now’s certainly the time to stock up on coffee sleeves or ipod socks!
Like many knitters, Jennifer Westwood was taught at an early age by her Grandmother and has been hooked ever since. ‘As a teenager I was forever knitting backless jumpers and sleeveless polo-necks for myself’ she tells me. ‘I’ve just always done it – partly ‘cos I’m such a fidget and can’t sit and do nothing!’
The idea for Mouthy Mitts came from a Radio 4 programme that Jennifer didn’t 
even hear! It was about a stallholder at Camden Market who was explaining what a happy life she had – knitting and selling her wares and enjoying the friendships and banter of market life. Jennifer’s husband told her about it and suggested she knitted items for sale. She liked the idea of a ‘portfolio career’ that fitted around her studies and family commitments.
‘It needed to be something relatively quick to produce and something that you can’t find on the high street’ explains Jennifer. She decided on fingerless mittens/gloves because they’re perfect size wise and they can be worn Spring, Autumn and Winter. The emoticon design is a digital look that lends itself to custom orders ‘which you can’t get in Primark’ quips Jennifer. ‘I love customers 
having their own ideas – one man who works outside on his laptop wanted a pair with « apple » across the left hand with a nerd on the right. Another customer wanted a heart and an anchor added to a pair of tattoo inspired LOVE/HATE mittens’.
The mittens are knitted in the round on 4 needles so you end up with a single tube which gives a really snug fit and smooth shape as there are no seams. This led onto the coffee cozies which are knitted in exactly the same way and have been popular on Etsy. Jennifer also makes cafetiere cozies. The emoticon design runs consistently through all the products as does the opportunity to choose colour/design as this is what differentiates the handmade from the high-street.
Jennifer’s products are sold via Etsy www.etsy.com/shop/mouthymitts and 90+% of her Etsy sales are to the States. ‘I love the idea that my mittens are being worn in New York and California’ says Jennifer ‘I even sent a pair to Thailand a couple of weeks ago’.
‘As for the future’ says Jennifer ‘going back to the stallholder in Camden Market, I’d love the idea of a stall, where I can sit and knit (and sell) all day so if anyone’s got a space, let me know 
’
By Helen Ruff
