Monday, April 20, 2009

Mitten Factory

Here is another pair of "hoot-less" mittens. I followed the pattern of Give-A-Hoot mittens omitting the cabled parts.


Close up of what the Finnish knitters call "Indian Thumb Gusset"




I did not really care for the 34 sts width of these. A little too wide even for my wide hands. I assume when you work the cabled part it would draw in the hand for a tighter fit.




Soooo.............

Inspired by Give-A-Hoot mittens I came up with these "Life Line" mittens.
I cut down the pattern to 32 sts wrist and body.
About 2-3 oz of worsted wt yarn and based on 32 sts for a snugger fit.
I'm calling them Life Line Mittens because the thumb gusset curves along the life line on your palm.

Recipe/Mods for Life Line Mittens

Inspired by Give-A-Hoot Mittens

About 2.5 – 3 oz of worsted wt yarn and needles to give you a gauge of 4 – 4 ½ sts per inch.

CO 32 sts, join in round and knit ribbing of our choice for 3.5”

Knit 4 rows in stockinette stitch.

Left Thumb Gusset
Rnd 1: K3, kfb next st, PM (place marker) K to end of row (33sts)
Rnds 2-9: Knit to 1 stitch before marker, kfb of that stitch, slip marker and knit to end of round.
You should end of with 41 total stitches.

Next row; Knit 13, place next 11 sts on a holder, cast on 2 sts on right hand needle and knit to end of round. (32 sts)

Knit until top of mitten just clears your little finger. This was about 5” from the base of my palm or from the beginning of the stockinette part. I have short fingers, so you might want to knit more rows for longer fingers.


Mitten Top
1. (K2tog, K6) 4x – 28 sts
2. Knit this row and every even row.
3. (K2tog, K5) 4x – 24 sts
5. (K2tog, K4) 4x – 20 sts
7: (K2tog, K3) 4x – 16 sts
9: (K2 tog, K2) 4x – 12 sts
10: K2 tog across, break yarn, gather up

Thumb
From holder, pick up and knit 11 sts for thumb, 1 st in the corners and 2 sts at the base of thumb. (15 sts)
*On next round decrease at the corners so there are 13 sts total for thumb.
Divide on 3 needles and knit even about 2”.
Last row; knit 2 together across, break yarn and gather up.


Right Thumb Gusset
Rnd 1: K11, PM, kfb next st, K to end of row (33sts)
Rnds 2-9: Knit to marker, slip marker, kfb of next stitch, knit to end of round.
You should end of with 41 total stitches.

Next row; Place next 11 sts on a holder, cast on 2 sts on right hand needle and knit to end of round. (32 sts)
Knit body same as left hand mitten.



What's Next?
Having met puzzled out the new thumb gusset on one strand mittens, I've moved on to modifying my favorite 2 strand mitten pattern.

Red Rocks Mittens

#9 needles and 2 strands of knitting worsted
Thumb hole might be too large, I won't know yet until I work it.

Stay tuned!

2 comments:

alissa said...

just stumbled across your blog... those red rocks mittens look awesome! how can I get ahold of the pattern?

Vivien said...

Posted by Vivien:
I've spent hours and hours looking for the perfect mitten pattern, and your "Life Line" mittens are it! It's too bad your blog is so hard to find.
You need to post a photo of the mittens knit with plain yarn so that it is easier to see the beautiful life line.
Very importantly - the instructions are easy to follow!
I'd like to make mittens for adults and kids - How do I modify (number of stitches) for different sizes?