Mittens!
I've made three pairs of mittens since January! All for my co-works Ken and Ken. The first Ken requested two pairs of mitts right after Christmas and presented me with two balls of Patons Classic Merino ($4/ball at Micheal's he said!!). I finished those in February, and he and his sweetheart quite enjoyed them.
A few days after receiving the finished mitts, he provided me with a big bag of homemade cookies! It seems there are perks to knitting for other people!
Then the other Ken, who has been admiring my knitting in the coffee room for over a year now, decide that he must have a pair of mitts too. He asked if I knew of any icelandic yarn, and I thought of Lopi immediately. I had to send him to the yarn store to get the yarn though. He took a detour with some of the other guys from work, on the way back to the office from a meeting or something. You've got to understand that these are "hunters" and "fisherman" and they think knitting is girly. So they've been ribbing Ken non-stop about having to buy yarn at a yarn shop. I think it's just fine, especially since I'm getting deer steaks and sausages out of the deal!!! :)
I'm almost done those mitts... he requested a "dummy" string be added as well... lol.
So I'm hoping with these last mittens being completed I'll be able to say good bye winter!
In case you want to get started on some mittens for next year, here's my tweaked felted mitten pattern!
Allison’s Felted Mitten Recipe
Yarn: Approximately 200yards 100% wool worsted weigh yarn such as Cascade 220 or Patons Classic Merino or Knit Picks Wool of the Andes.
Needles:
Set of 4 or 5 dpns, size 5mm (US 8), it may be easier to use a 16in circular needle for the larger size.3.5mm (US 4) dpns
Other notions:
5mm crochet hook
2 markers
cotton waste yarn
stitch holder
Gauge: approx 4 stitches per inch but finished size is determined by felting
Sizes: Woman (Man)
Note: Cuffs are picked up and knit after felting is completed.
Using larger needles, CO 44(52) st using knitted cast on.
Knit 10 rounds.
Begin thumb gusset:
Right mitten:
Knit 3, place marker (pm), m1, K3, m1, pm, knit to end of round. Knit one round. Knit 3, slip marker, m1, k5, m1, slip marker, knit to end of round. Knit one round. Continue in this fashion, increasing just after first marking and just before second marker until there are 11(13) stitches between the markers. On the next plain knit round, place these stitches on a stitch holder or waste yarn, and cast three stitches onto needle in right hand using the backwards loop method. Knit to end of round.
Left mitten:
Knit until 6 before end of round, marker (pm), m1, K3, m1, pm, K3. Knit one round.Knit to marker, slip marker, m1, k5, m1, slip marker, K3. Knit one round. Continue in this fashion, increasing just after first marking and just before second marker until there are 11(13) stitches between the markers. On the next plain knit round, place these stitches on a stitch holder or waste yarn, and cast three stitches onto needle in right hand using the backwards loop method. Knit to end of round.
Begin mitten body (right and left mittens):
*Knit 7 rounds. On 8th round, knit 20 (24) st. Wrap next stitch and turn so wrong side is facing. Sl 1, purl 18 (22) st. Wrap next st and turn so right side is facing. Knit to end of round, knitting the wraps with wrapped stitches as you come across them.
Repeat from * twice more, for a total of 24 rounds.
Decrease for top:K1, k2tog, K16, ssk, K1, pm. Repeat once. *Knit 1 round.K1 K2tog, knit to 3 before marker, ssk, k1, repeat to second marker. Repeat from * until 24 (28) stitches remain, then work decreases every round until 8 stitches remain. Thread yarn through remaining stitches and weave in ends.
Thumb:
Transfer stitches from stitch holder onto two dpns. Then pick up 5 (7) stitches on a third dpn. 16 (20) sts total. Knit 15 (18) rounds. K2tog 8(10) times. Thread yarn through remaining stitches and weave in ends.
Fulling:Using a crochet hook, and cotton yarn, crochet 44 (52) stitches around cuff of mitten. This will keep holes open so that the cuff stitches can be picked up after fulling.Put mittens in a zippered pillow case and run though 1 or more hot wash/cold rinse cycles, with a low amount of water, a small amount of laundry soap and a pair of old jeans. Check fulling process frequently in order to obtain the correct size. Felting is complete when stitch definition is no longer visible. Let the mitten run through spin cycle to remove excess water. Shape mittens as necessary and allow to dry completely.
Cuffs:
Remove cotton waste yarn. With smaller needles, pick up and knit 44(52) stitches with same yarn as mitten.Begin k2p2 ribbing and continue until cuffs are desired length. Bind off using EZ’s sewn bind off or other stretchy bind off.
