Simple Mittens
Mittens for my great grandma.
By now, I’ve built a pretty sizable stash of yarn because I’ve started projects and ran out of yarn before finishing, prompting me to buy more of the same yarn, which left me with still more yarn to figure out what to do with. One such case was Karol’s hat, a riff on the simple hat with a pom-pom on top. I made the hat in a bulky, purple yarn and had lots left over. So I decided to do a pair of mittens, again in the “how hard can it be” spirit. Also by this point, I had gotten ahold of double-pointed needles so no more knitting-in-the-round fails.
While the mittens turned out decent, I hit a lot of snags along the way mostly due to not reading the pattern carefully enough and not taking the pattern instructions as seriously as one probably should.
Project Info:
Pattern: The World’s Simplest Mittens
Yarn: Charisma Heather by Loops & Threads, purple colorway, 100% acrylic, bulky weight
Needles: US 8 DPNs
Misc: reading comprehension
First, this was the first pattern from Tin Can Knits that I used. They have a gorgeous website full of really helpful resources, free patterns, and cool designs that have been used in several of my projects. Their pattern for the World’s Simplest Mittens is an incredible step-by-step guide on each design, stitch, and technique used throughout.
Second, the pattern itself was neatly organized, knitting from the cuff up, pausing to finish the thumb until last. It was my first time working with a “gusset,” which allows space for your thumb coming off your hand (or, e.g., extra crotch space if making pants).
Third, it was the first time I did a pseudo-gauge swatch, using a previously made hat with the same ribbing pattern in the same yarn to figure out how many stitches to cast on. A decent corner-cutting move since I wasn’t patient enough to do an actual gauge swatch.
Fourth, this was the first project documented on paper. I realized I needed space to make notes for each project, so I now have a dedicated notebook for my knitting.
For the materials above, I cast on 26 stitches. The cuff is worked in a 1x1 rib until desired length - I did 14 rounds. The hand is knit while making the thumb gusset, making sure to do the M1 steps correctly to avoid holes (I never really got this perfect but no matter, it’s easy to sew up holes). Then the thumb stitches are left on a holder until the rest of the hand/fingers are knit.
Here is where I encountered difficulties: my negligence in placing markers meant I did not decrease the correct amount of stitches each round, effectively decreasing only on the pinky finger side of the mitten. It resulted in a neat shape (essentially following the contours of the decreasing finger heights), but when I made the second mitten (correctly) they didn’t match. I begrudgingly unfurled the first mitten down to the middle of the fingers to get the decreasing right. So lesson learned: read and honor the damn pattern.
Pictured below are the mittens I made for mom (same pattern, just different yarn).
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