Oct 21, 2014

crocheted mitts how-to


here (just after i prattle on for a bit) is a "pattern" i wrote up a while ago. 

pattern writing is not something i know much anything about...
but this one is so easy, & so many people have asked how to make these mitts,
that i figure, even if it's written imperfectly,
you will come to your own more "correct" conclusions in the making of them,
and/or make many happy accidents discoveries uniquely your own.

for instance, maybe you'd like yours frill- or stripe- or thumb-tube-free...
or with longer or shorter cuffs.
once you get going, you'll easily see how any of those variations and more 
can magically happen right in your own clever hands.

so here it is ~ feel free to flagrantly disregard choices of yarns* & colors,
because "flagrant disregard" is one of the things that makes life worth living.

*though it seems something springy and woolish would be best
for keeping their shape and your human mitts toasty. 


materials: 
  • @ 1/2 skein each of (what i used was) soft dk wool (color 1) and dk-weight mohair (color 2) in contrasting colors - or about one whole skein of whatever you like.
  • size US F hook (or whichever size hook matches your choice of yarn) 
  • needle for sewing up and weaving in ends
  • devil-may-care attitude
guage: darned if i know ~ i used the try-on-as-you-go method with good results, so that's how i wrote the directions. 
for the cuffs:
chain 15 with dk wool, turn ~sc into 2nd ch from hook, and sc each st down the row, ch 1, turn
~ sc tbl only into each st, ch 1, turn ~ repeat from ~ to ~ for about 20 - 22 rows, or until it fits your wrist snugly, but not tightly. (try it on as you go by stretching it and holding the edges together with your other hand, to make it to fit your own wrist size.)
note: going through the back loops creates the “ribbed” effect.
sew ends of cuff together with a strand of dk wool threaded into your needle, by stitching beneath one whole ch st on one edge, and tbl on the other edge (this makes the seam somewhat invisible and maintains the ribbed appearance.)
start base of mitt:
still with dk wool, sc in each “stitch” on one end of the cuff for about 32 - 35 stitches around. fewer stitches for a snugger fit, more for looser. (you may have to try it out a few times to get the fit you want.)
sc in each stitch around, sl st into first st, ch 1, sc in each stitch around, sl st into first st of previous round, sl st, join new color, ch 1, sc in each st around (note: don’t cut off the first color, twist it with the second color so that it is carried up and ready to pick up when you change colors in the next round.) (also, the ch 1 at the start of the round allows you to skip one stitch - it’s the small-looking first stitch of the previous row.)
the stripe sequence i used was: 2 rounds of dk wool (dark grey), 1 round of mohair (ice blue).
continue on in this way until mitt reaches the base of your thumb, remembering to twist each stitch at the beginning of the row, so that you can easily change colors and not leave ends or loopy yarns on the inside. end with one dk wool row.
for the left hand thumb opening: (this will be the “second round” of dk wool or color 1 if using two colors in stripe pattern as i did) chain 7, sk 6, join into 7th sc and continue around the mitt, “bypassing” the thumbhole formed by the chain and the skipped stitches (they will be “outside” of the “hand” part of the mitt that you will continue to work upwards. (you’ll work the thumbhole into a little thumb tube afterwards).
for the right hand thumb opening: (this will be the “second round” of dk wool or color 1, if using 2 colors in stripe pattern) sc in each ch until there are 7 stitches left on the round, chain 7, sk 6 and join in last stitch.
continue sc’ing around the “hand” part of the mitt, bypassing the thumb opening, and changing colors in pattern, until the mitt reaches as high up your hand as you’d like it. end with a second row of dk wool.
thumb tubes:
starting at the inside corners, sc in each opening (here I “caught up” the chains to sort of incorporate them into the thumbhole, instead of sc’ing into each chain) - for about 12 stitches around (you can try it on and work it to fit your thumb - add increases or decreases as needed). continue sc-ing around until it reaches to the top of your knuckle, or wherever you’d like. sl st in first stitch of previous round, fasten off.
frilly edgings:
with mohair (color 2), at top and bottom edges of each mitt, ~sc, ch 1, sl st into same stitch, sl st into next st ~ repeat from ~ to ~ around, sl st into first sc of the round, fasten off.


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