5 Meme Craft Ideas Using Bernie Mittens

cute card between berries on branches with picture of Bernie Sanders sitting and the words "I have been smitten by you"
  • 5 hours
  • Beginner
  • 30
What You'll Need
Yarn
Knitting or crocheting needles
Paper
Labels
What You'll Need
Yarn
Knitting or crocheting needles
Paper
Labels

Our social feeds being filled with a million mitten memes was exactly what we needed to give us a good laugh and spark our DIY creativity, so we've been bern-ing to try out a few crafts inspired by Bernie's mittens. The best part is, these concepts can apply to any meme you'd like to see incarnated in craft form. Creating products like these can become a nifty home craft business if you time your projects right!

With no further ado, here are a few of Bernie Sanders Mitten meme-inspired DIYs that we're absolutely smitten with.

1. Mittens—Duh!

Wondering how to make the Bernie Sanders mittens for yourself? If you're a knitting pro, or even a beginner, making yourself a pair of Bernie-inspired mittens isn't all that difficult. To create mittens that match Bernie's, you'll need blue wool yarn, white wool yarn, two shades of tan wool yarn, and some basic knitting needles.

Bernie's mittens are rocking a Fair Isle pattern, but if you want an exact pattern, a quick internet search will help you find all sorts of patterns for these darling mittens (bonus points for shopping small on Etsy).

You'll need a few hours to make these magical mittens.

2. DIY Doll

hand knitted Bernie Sanders doll

Photo: Crafty is Cool Crochet on Etsy

If Crocheting is more your speed, all you need is a crochet pattern (check Etsy), hooks and needles, and yarn. This is a perfect DIY craft for intermediate and advanced crocheters. Because of all the little details included in this pattern, buckle up— you'll be crocheting for several hours.

Most of these crocheting patterns use a combination of simple and common knots, but make sure to check the patterns before you buy one so you can pick one that best fits your skillset.

If the Bernie meme moment is your jam, though, taking the time to crochet this darling doll is one hundred percent worth it.

3. Super Stickers

If you love graphic design, hop on Procreate and draw your version of those glorious Bernie Sanders mittens. Infuse your own style into the drawings and have fun with it.

Once you've created a digital drawing, turn it into a sticker using an online sticker printer that allows custom sticker prints. If you want your sticker to have a white outline like the one shown above, you need to select a die-cut sticker at checkout.

If you want to go a cheaper, full-DIY route, grab medium or large circular labels at an office supply store. Find the label type listed on the front of the box and go online to find a corresponding template. Download that template and drop your mitten image into the template.

Make sure your image is a PNG with a transparent background so that your sticker looks more professional. Once your sticker looks good on the template, print it using your own printer.

If you want to waterproof the sticker, add a packing tape layer to the top and trim it to fit the sticker.

Bernie Sanders sticker design

Photo: Blush LINY on Etsy

4. Meme Tees

If a sticker isn't quite big enough for you to declare your love of this mitten-y meme, DIY a tee.

Tee Making Method One: Using a Cricut, design your Bernie mitten pattern so that you can transfer it to a t-shirt using Infusible Ink. This special Cricut product will allow you to create a precise design and have a t-shirt that lasts for a long, long time. If you are looking for a tee to last through this trend, you can use Cricut's iron-on vinyl instead.

Tee Making Method Two: Using fabric paint, get fancy. Place cardboard between the two layers of your shirt and paint your design using fabric paint. Once you're done, let the paint dry completely and wash it by hand any time it needs to be cleaned.

5. Cards

Bernie cards are sure to be a big hit this year for any occasion. You can make a Bernie card using Canva (like we did here), which is a free online design software with lots of neat tools to use.

You can also go old-school DIY and create one by hand (just like the school teacher who made the OG mittens themselves). A handmade card is very personal and is sure to have a big impact. Print out your favorite Bernie memes or draw on your card using any sort of art supply. Make sure to use a heavy-weight cardstock and score the card gently as you fold it.