After Christmas, I was craving to do a different project than what I had been doing for the past few months. Lucky enough, I found an old pattern from Patons for Mittens and Gloves. I forgot that I had that pattern and I remember, I only did a pair of fingerless gloves out of it years ago. As you know I can not show the pattern here for copyright reasons but I will share with you some pointers that I have learned in making these lovely mittens.
Materials:
- Pattern: Patons Next Steps Seven Mittens and Gloves 2014
- Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease | Medium Worsted Weight in Rose Heather
- Knitting Needles: Takumi Clover US 6, 4.0mm DPNs (double pointed needles)
- Stitch markers (optional)
- Stitch counter (optional)
This pattern was worked flat starting from the ribbing to the fingers. The pattern originally calls for 2 sizes of knitting needles. US 5, 3.75mm was supposed to be used for this ribbing. Since I did not have them, I just used US 6, 4.0mm for the whole project which turned out alright as well.
As you can see from the photo above, it was a few rows of ribbing for the cuffs. After the ribbing and a few rows of stockinette stitch (knit on the right side, purl on the wrong side), the thumb gusset starts. It is simply increasing for the thumb placement.
Actually, I miscalculated the rows for the thumb. The first photo below shows that. I initially knitted too many rows and it ended up an inch long for my thumb. So I had to frog a few rows and shorten the thumb. The second photo shows the final thumb length and the third shows my right hand on top of it. It is actually a good idea to fit it as you go so you can be as accurate as possible with regards to the fit.
A couple of my favorite details about this project are the beautiful increases and decreases. I just love how seamless they are. On the first photo, it shows the beginning of the thumb gusset. It was a 1-stitch increase and then an increase of 2 stitches on the following rows. The second photo shows the decrease on the top part of the mittens, shaping the fingers. The right side decrease used ssk (slip, slip, knit) which decreases 1 stitch and the left side decreases used k2tog (knit 2 together) which also decreases 1 stitch.
The thumb gusset leaves a small hole but since there is a cast on part on this area, I used the extra yarn to just fill the hole by tightening a few stitches. In my experience, this is pretty common with knitting mittens and gloves.
The pattern was pretty much straightforward. Be prepared for some seam sewing. This pattern is actually in the Ravelry database but upon searching, it is unfortunately out of print. However, you can view this project on my Ravelry page.
What projects are you planning this year? I must admit, my projects helped me tremendously by keeping busy and staying challenged. I am so sorry that this pattern is no longer available. But I think it just inspired me to write a pattern for some mittens or gloves. I promise you, once that is finished, I will share it with all of you.
Happy new year and happy making!
Shelah Knits 