Christmas Mittens

John & I both got new mittens this month. I started mine from some leftover Knit Picks City Tweed wool that I had used for a baby blanket, and he liked them so much that I made a pair for him. Here they are.

Project Details:

Yarn: Knit Picks City Tweed HW, in Brocade and Snowshoe, left over from my grandnephew Jacoby’s baby blanket.

Pattern: These are roughly Ann Budd’s Basic Mittens in her Handy Book of Patterns.

Modifications: The pattern as written has you start the thumb gusset increases immediately after finishing the cuff. I knit a little more than an inch plain before starting the increases. I think they fit better. She also has you do the thumb gusset, put the stitches on hold, finish the hand, then cast on just one extra stitch to bridge the gap on the thumb stitches. I cast on a couple more, since I think it makes for less holes at the corners to have to hide.

Needles: Ivore double points, 4.00 mm.

Started/Finished: I started mine on November 5th, finished a couple of weeks later. I started John’s last week, finished them today. I could really do a pair of these in a couple days if I wasn’t such a dawdler.

For: His & Her sweethearts!

What I Learned: Well, they’re just mittens. John’s are a little big, and I would do the cuffs on a size smaller needle next time. This yarn isn’t very springy, due to the alpaca, I suppose, and is extremely soft, so I wouldn’t use it for anything that I wanted to keep for a long time, or that I wanted to hold its shape and not pill. I’ve only worn mine a few times and they already have a major fuzzy halo. A sweater out of this might not be my first choice. It was a great way to use up leftovers, though, and now we both have new mittens!

I hope everybody’s holiday was a smashing success!

Author: Lorette

My name is Lorette. I learned to knit in 1999, and took up spinning in 2009. I'm a physician specializing in internal medicine, and live in the Pacific Northwest. Enjoy my blog!

8 thoughts on “Christmas Mittens”

  1. Lovely mittens for sweethearts. Thanks for the review on the yarn. I was considering it for a sweater, but will have to rethink the issue.

  2. Love the mittens…love even more that you two have matching ones! I made DH a hat out of that yarn (can’t remember the colorway) and he thinks it’s the warmest hat he’s ever worn. On cold days I can hardly get the thing off him! LOL

  3. Awww! Y’know, you could get “choppers” (the leather outer mitten that come with ugly knitted liners) – these would be perfect liners, and the leather would protect them.

  4. The second photo is a major “Awwww” inducer.

    Sorry the yarn isn’t quite up to speed. Have to say, though, that I love tweed.

  5. I’ve used that pattern also, with pretty good results–to use up a discontinued KP yarn of alpaca and silk. Your modifications make a lot of sense, and the two pairs look terrific.

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