Sewing a muff

So... this is what I've been doing this weekend: a muff.

I'd bought a rectangle of Muppet-skin years ago - to make a muff. I'd kept it in my wardrobe for a looong time, but with the weather these days, I started working on it.

I cut a few layers of fleece very slightly smaller than the Muppet-skin:

Then I cut a piece of black satin. I cut it bigger than the Mupper-skin:

Here's a photo of the three layers together:

I used pins to place the rubber bands that would close the muff ends. I sewed the satin on the fleece and made sure that the rubber bands could move smoothly:

The next step was a bit rock 'n' roll because I had to sew the shortest sides together (that were twelve layers of various thickness).

When that was done, I turned it inside out so I had the Muppet-skin on one side and the lining layers on the other - a bit like a butterfly. I sewed the Muppet-skin right against the lining, and when that was done, I put the lining back inside the cylinder.

The next step was to close the longest sides. When I reached the opening with the extra rubber band, I pulled until I was satisfied with the shape of the opening, and I knotted the ends of the rubber band, cut the extra length and hid it under the satin before closing it for good. Then... repeat on side b.

You get this:

My hands will stay warm - and people might talk... Double bonus.