Date: Wed, 3 Jul 1996 17:50:41 -0500 From: "Joan E. Schrouder" <104336.1263@CompuServe.COM> To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: Fittin' Mittens (from the fingertips down!) Dear KL'ers - I promised a mitten pattern and here it is. And just to "go at it from another angle", they're worked from the tips down which I think has at least a couple of advantages: you can make the cuff as long as you have yarn for; it's fun to do it differently and you learn more about how and why knitting works the way it does. I'll give it as a percentage formula, ala EZ, so that you can plug in whatever weight yarn you want to work with, and make any size. All you need to begin is your gauge and a measurement around the hand at the knuckles, thumb NOT included. To hopefully make it clearer, I'll use a 5 st/in gauge and measurement of 8" as an example. Multiply the 2 #'s tog to get the "KEY" # of 40 or your K #. With waste yarn CO 25% of K (10 sts). Leaving a tail of ~10", K across with main yarn. Divide these sts on 2 DP's. Now join and K arnd with a 3rd ndl. (Yes, there is a hole there. When you get a little farther along, you can take out the waste yarn and weave the loose sts tog with the tail.) Place marker @ beg of rnd. On next rnd, inc in first and last st of both ndls - total of 4 inc's. Repeat this last inc rnd every rnd until 75% of K (30 sts). K 1 rnd plain. On next rnd, only inc in last st of ndl #1 and 1st st of ndl #2. Repeat these last 2 rnds until you reach 100% of K (40 sts). You can now switch to 4 or 5 DP's or the short circs. Work without shaping til' you reach the thumb crotch. As you can see, the mitten top is shaped to conform to the hand. Now ID the side where the thumb will be. (It should be on same side as marker.) You can now work the thumb down and join it to the rest of the sts like you would a sleeve to a body, ala EZ, but I prefer to just leave a thumb gap for the time being, then K up the sts and finish the thumb at the end. So leave 1" worth of sts on a holder. If you want mittens to be ambidextrous, ie thumb sticking straight out from the side, ideal for kids, etc., then center the 1" worth of sts right over the marker. If you want a right and left mitten, take the sts from before the marker for the left hand, after the marker for the right hand. Just K a few sts forward or tink back to the right place to put the sts on a holder (use a waste piece of yarn - those metal pins will get in your way with so few sts). Cast on 2" worth of sts over the gap - I use the tail from the waste yarn holding the sts to CO the sts, then K over with the main yarn, and cont. arnd. To shape the gusset - several ways to do this and you can "unvent" your own. Basically, you want to dec 2 sts at the thumb every ~3 rnds. I work SSK on last 2 sts right before the CO sts, work across CO sts, then K 2 tog right after, on the first dec rnd; then work 2 fewer sts between the dec's on the each subsequent dec rnd. Keep the rate of dec until most or all of the thumb sts are dec'd, tring on freq. to check fit. If you're to the wrist, but still want to get rid of a few more sts to nip it in, dec the excess, evenly spaced, to an even multiple of whichever rib patt you want to use. Rib TDL. Bind off loosely. (If doing it loosely enough to stretch well leaves it looking sleazy, BO with a double strand of yarn and a larger ndl or crochet hook.) Adapt these however you want - add patt sts, embroider, etc. If you have access to KNITTER's #13, check out my article and specific patterns in "Shockin' Stockin's & Fittin' Mittens", pages 64-67. You may use and distribute these directions for personal use to others, if you don't charge for them, and also sell products made from these directions, as long as my name remains with them. For permission for any other use - contact me at: Joan Schrouder, 2152 Marlow Lane, Eugene, OR (USA) 541-302-6367 Enjoy! Joan <104336.1263@compuserve.com --- This pattern downloaded from Wool Works: the online knitting compendium http://www.woolworks.org/