Saskatoon business gaining popularity from Bernie Sanders meme

By Caitlyn Lepp

The Bernie Sanders meme has given a local business in Saskatoon a big bump in popularity.

Sanders sitting alone wearing winter attire during the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden drew a lot of attention from the public — especially his mittens.

People find themselves wondering, “How do I get myself a pair?”

Something from Nothing Mittens is a local business in Saskatoon that creates mittens out of wool sweaters.

Owner Karen Boldt explains the process it takes to make such beautiful, unique, handcrafted designs.

“I don’t know how to knit, but what I do is I purchase wool sweaters that are castoffs in thrift stores and they need to have a good amount of wool in them,” Boldt said on Tuesday’s Brent Loucks Show.

“I wash them and I shrink them and I cut my patterns from those sweaters and I sew them back together into mittens and line them with flannel.”

Boldt has been creating custom patterns for more than 12 years and makes six different sizes out of her own inspiration or by families bringing in their own sweaters.

“It’s not the most common thing that I do,” she said. “However, I definitely have made many sets of mittens particularly for families when it’s a loved one’s sweater.

“I love to do that. I find it a real honour when I can do that for a family.”

For more information, visit the company’s website.