Heart back home Fingerless mittens: Knitty Winter 2011

by Rachael Herron

I love home, everything about it. I always have. Maybe it's the Cancerian in me, but I love to be home, and I have to nest wherever I am. In hotels, I unpack into every drawer, even if I'm just staying a night. Even in tents, I lay out piles of clothing in orderly rows.

Home is truly where my heart is, and maybe it's why I loved writing How to Knit a Heart Back Home so much. I adored writing about two people learning what the words mean to them.

So forgive me if it's a little sappy, but I designed some mitts to show off those two beautiful words that Lucy and Owen study in the book. Heart. Home. ( =Love. ) They're an easy knit, finished off with duplicate stitch that is just as easy to do.

model + photos: Rachael Herron

SIZE
Small [Medium, Large]

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Length: 7.5[8, 8.5] inches
Circumference around palm: 7[7.5, 8] inches.

MATERIALS
Yarn
[MC] Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted [100% superwash merino; 225yds per 40z skein]; color: Bold Red; 1 skein makes 2 pairs of size Medium

[CC] Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted[100% superwash merino; 225yds per 40z skein]; color Natural; 1 skein – less than 10yds used.
Note: Scraps of a yarn in a similar weight to your MC will be fine, you don’t necessarily need to buy a whole new skein of yarn for this. If you do use a different yarn, make sure it’s also a Superwash.

Recommended needle size
[always use a needle size that gives you the gauge listed below -- every knitter's gauge is unique]

1 set US #7/4.5mm double-point needles
OR

1 US #7/4.5mm long circular needle for magic loop method
OR

2 US #7/4.5mm circular needles for two-circulars method

Notions
A 12-inch length of smooth scrap yarn in a contrasting color
Yarn needle
Stitch marker (optional)

GAUGE

18 sts and 24 rounds = 4 inches in stockinette stitch in the round

PATTERN NOTES
[Knitty's list of standard abbreviations and techniques can be found here.]

The house and heart motifs are applied after knitting using the duplicate stitch method.
For information see this article.

Important note: All red yarn is prone to dye leakage, so it's wise to rinse the finished mittens until there is no red dye running down the sink, and block them dry. Then begin the duplicate stitch work.

DIRECTIONS

Using MC, cast on 28[32,36] stitches using long-tail method. Distribute across your needles as you prefer, and join for working in the round, being careful not to twist. Note or mark beginning of round.

Lower Edging
Ribbing round: [K1, p1] to end.
Repeat Ribbing round five times more.

Body round: Knit.
Repeat Body round until mitt measures 4.75[5, 5.25] inches from cast-on edge.

Setup for thumb: K5[6, 7]. Using scrap yarn, k4, then slip these 4 sts back to left-hand needle. Using the working yarn, reknit these 4 sts and continue to end of round.
Repeat Body round until mitt measures 6.5[7,7.5] inches from cast-on edge.

Upper Edging
Work Ribbing round 6 times.
Bind off loosely in ribbing.

Thumb
Carefully unpick the scrap yarn holding the thumb stitches, placing the 4 lower stitches on one needle, and the four upper stitches on another.
With RS facing, rejoin yarn to start of lower stitches.
Round 1: K4, pick up and knit 2 sts in the gap between the lower and upper stitches, k4 across upper stitches, pick up and knit 2 sts in the gap between the upper and lower stitches. 12 sts.
Round 2: Knit.
Repeat Round 2 5 more times.
Ribbing round: [K1, p1] to end.
Repeat Ribbing round once more.
Bind off loosely in ribbing.

Duplicate Stitch Patterns
Motifs are duplicate stitched on the back of the hand: To determine precise placement, use Rachael’s Not-So Scientific Method: put on the mitts. Consider where you want the bottom center of each motif to lie, and mark that stitch (I use a split ring marker). Make sure you count up from that stitch to make sure the ten rows will fit nicely. Compare marks on each glove, making sure they’re approximately in the same place.

Thread needle with CC. Using duplicate stitch, work the Heart motif on one mitten, and the Home motif on the other.

FINISHING
Weave in all ends, using tail at base of thumb to close up any holes around the thumb.

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

designername Rachael Herron received her MFA in writing from Mills College, and has been knitting since she was five years old. It’s more than a hobby; it’s a way of life.

Rachael lives with her better half in Oakland, California, where they have four cats, three dogs, three spinning wheels, and more instruments than they can count. She is a proud member of the San Francisco Area Romance Writers of America and she is struggling to get better at playing the ukulele.