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Monday, January 4, 2016

Embracing winter

Fingerless mitts

I live in Canada and it gets cold here. Despite that fact, each and every year I try to ignore it - some lingering connection to the rebellious teenager who did not wear a coat and certainly never did it up, no hat, no mitts, boots only if they were cool ones, etc.

Fingerless mitts

But as the cold weather sets in, my hands get cold sweeping snow off my car, and running errands, and having actually walks outside. So after I knit some fingerless gloves for my kid, I made some for me.

Fingerless mitts

The pattern is my own (you might know that I have been knitting since I was a small child and would consider myself a far better knitter than quilter). Long enough cuff to go under or over my coat, a cinch in at the wrist, texture on the backs of the mitts but a smooth inside, ribbing at the end to keep them from stretching with use, and a gusset thumb for comfort. I made them long enough to leave just enough of my fingers free to use my iphone.

Fingerless mitts

I love making mittens and fingerless gloves as they are fast, with enough going on to keep one interested. Before you know it you are making the second one.

Fingerless mitts

The yarn is Malabrigo Rio, in colourway 121 Marte, and it is a pure merino superwash wool. It is a very soft wool and as it is superwash the mitts will not felt and shrink when they get wet from the snow.

p.s. The very astute of you will see that I have not washed and blocked these mitts yet. I keep pulling them out to wear. But I will try to do that tonight after I finish being outdoors - every new knit benefits tremendously by that first washing and blocking.

I'm about to cast on some mittens. I have some lovely pairs already but one can never have too many. By the middle of January, even I see the value of warmer fingers and less outside phone use.

Best,

Leanne

12 comments:

  1. Leanne, I love these mitts with their seed stitch, cinch at the wrist and ribbing near the fingertips and thumb tip. Do you have this pattern available for sale? I would love a copy.

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  2. I laughed at your comments about teenagers and coats, mitts etc. I live in Canada too and it's -20 with the wind chill today. Driving to work I saw a young man (14-15 yrs old perhaps) wearing shorts and a t shirt with runners. Brrr. Nice gloves, I would love to know the pattern too.

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  3. Marvellous mittens!! I really should go back to knitting know and again, ages since I did so. I have an autoimmune problem who means I have to keep wrists and hand warm as toast and these fingerless mitts would be great for popping on just to to the mail box even - if I was having a really bad trip I could even wear inside the house!

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  4. Please, please write the pattern? These are awesome! Many mitts are too short and don't have much of a thumb either but these are perfect!

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  5. I have a pair that a knitting friend made for me - I just love them! Yours are really cool - I like the cinch at the wrist!

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  6. Good for you! Not being a knitter, they look very complicated to me! And how should we be able to tell they have not been washed or blocked?

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  7. Yes! Pattern, please! It gets cold here in Washington DC, and my little Southern (Louisiana) hands could use a pair of these!!!

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  8. Those look great. I have some finger less gloves that I use a lot too but honestly I am not one who will ever embrace winter. I fight it all the way.

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  9. Great pair of mittens! Do you use a circular needles or the four needles?

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