by Ruth Garcia-Alcantud

I have cold hands. Really. 364 days of the year. The other day (or two) they're just plain freezing. I cannot get enough mittens, gloves, mitts or sweater sleeves to cover them. The Wool Dispensary Greater Restorative yarn is a soft and lofty singles yarn, perfect to trap all the warmth I can get! The undulating pattern makes me think of waves of heat while I try to convince myself my hands are actually warm.

Due to the small cables and small stitch count, these mittens are a good intro to cable knitting -- not to mention that the anatomically correct thumb patterning will make you comfortable in winter.

Perfect little travelling project for the easy to remember patterning and also, great as a quick gift -- I made these in 48 hours!

SIZE
Adult S[M, L]
shown in size S

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Hand Circumference: 8[10.5, 12.75] inches

MATERIALS
Yarn
The Wool Dispensary Greater Restorative [Superwash Merino; 250yd/m per 100g skein]; color: On the Back Lot; 1 skein

Recommended needle size
[always use a needle size that gives you the gauge listed below -- every knitter's gauge is unique]
US 4/3.5mm needles for working in the round

Notions
stitch markers
waste yarn or stitch holder
cable needle
crochet hook (for provisional cast on)
yarn needle

GAUGE

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

If you're working on DPNs, try to keep a full chart repeat on the needle to avoid having to cross cables and needles at the same time.

The mittens are started at different points in the chart for mirroring. Try your hand at charting your own cables over a 6 stitch gap to customize your own mittens!

To have that perfect finishing touch, make a note of how many rows are worked before the thumb separation and how many are worked to the tip decrease. This will ensure the pattern is mirrored throughout even during the tip decreases!

Twisted German CO: Instructions can be found here.

This project uses a provisional cast on. Use your preferred provisional cast on technique; directions for one technique may be found here.

Instructions for grafting can be found here.

T2R: Slip next st to cable needle and hold to back of work; k1 tbl, then p1 from cn.
T2L: Slip next st to cable needle and hold to front of work; p1, then k1 tbl from cn.

Cable Pattern
Round 1: P4, T2R.
Round 2: P4, k1 tbl, p1.
Round 3: P3, T2R, p1.
Round 4: P3, k1 tbl, 21.
Round 5: P2, T2R, p2.
Round 6: P2, k1 tbl, p3.
Round 7: P1, T2R, p3.
Rounds 8-10: P1, k1 tbl, p4.
Round 11: P1, T2L, p3.
Round 12: P2, k1 tbl, p3.
Round 13: P2, T2L, p2.
Round 14: P3, k1 tbl, p2.
Round 15: P3, T2L, p1.
Round 16: P4, k1 tbl, p1.
Round 17: P4, T2L.
Rounds 18-20: P5, k1.

DIRECTIONS

Ribbing round: [P1, k1tbl] around.

Work Ribbing as set for 16 rounds total.

Setup round, Left Mitten only: K20[26, 32], pm, k1, m1, k1; pm, work cable pattern 3[4, 5] times, p2. 1 st increased; 3 sts between markers for thumb.

Setup round, Right Mitten only: Beginning on Round 11, work cable pattern 3[4, 5] times, p2, pm, k1, m1, k1, pm, k20[26, 32]. 1 st increased; 3 sts between markers for thumb.

Work 2 rnds even.

Thumb gusset increase round: Work in patt to marker, sl marker, m1, k to next marker, m1, sl marker, work in patt to end. 2 sts increased.

Following round: Work even in patt.

Repeat the last 2 rounds 6[7, 8] more times. 17[19, 21] sts are between thumb markers. 57[71, 85] sts.

Cont even in patt until mitten measures 5[5.5, 6] inches from CO or it meets base of thumb.

Separation round: Work in patt to marker, slip sts 17[19, 21] between markers to waste yarn and stitch holder and provisionally CO 6 sts to close the gap, leaving the markers in place. 46[58, 70] sts.

Next Rnd: Work to first thumb marker in patt, ssk, k2, k2tog, work in patt to end. 44[56, 68] sts.
Next Rnd: Work even in patt as set.
Next Rnd: Work to first thumb marker in patt, ssk, k2tog, work in patt to end. 42[54, 66]
Next Rnd: Work even in patt as set.
Next Rnd, Left Mitten only: Work to 1 st before first thumb marker, remove marker, k3tog, removing first thumb marker and leaving leave second thumb marker in place, work in patt to end.
Next Rnd, Right Mitten only: Work to first thumb marker, k3tog, removing second thumb marker, work in patt to end.
40[52, 64] sts rem, 20[26, 32] on each top and palm of mitten, rem marker denotes middle of rnd.

Cont even in patt until mitten measures 1.75 inches less than desired length.

Repeat the last 2 rounds until 20 sts rem, keeping patt as correct as possible (on the top patterned half, if there are not enough sts to create a cable when the chart calls for it, work as ktbl. Also, if the hand presents a p and then a ktbl, you may wish to do a knit-decrease to follow the flow of the undulating pattern) until 20 sts rem.

Cut yarn, leaving a long tail and graft sts together.

Thumb
Carefully unzip provisional CO and place the 6 sts on the needles, return held thumb sts to needle; distribute across st as you prefer and join to work in the rnd. 23[25, 27] sts.

Round 1: Knit.

Round 2: SSK, k2, k2tog, k to end. 21[23, 25] sts.

Round 3: Knit.

Round 4: SSK, k2tog, k to end. 19[21, 23] sts.

Round 5: K2tog, k to end. 18[20, 22] sts.

K even until thumb measures almost full length of wearer's thumb.

Dec Rnd: K2tog around. 9[10, 11] sts.
Next Rnd: Knit
Next Rnd: K1[0, 1], k2tog to end. 5[5, 6] sts.
Cut yarn leaving a long tail and thread through rem sts. Cinch tight and secure end in place.

FINISHING
Block according to yarn instructions and using mitten blockers if available. Weave in all ends.

Ruth is a full-time knitwear designer and technical editor transplanted from Spain to the UK. She has cold hands pretty much 360 days of the year, and she can be bribed to do just about anything for coffee or chocolate, much to her husband's delight. Ruth's book is due out 2014 through Cooperative Press and in the meantime, she's preparing her house to welcome a couple of Siberian Huskies.

Read about her on rockandpurl.com and find her on Ravelry.