Made in USA mittens (Ethnic Knitting Adventures): Knitty Winter bis 2011

by Donna Druchunas,
photos by Dominic Cotignola

My interest in knitting has been kept alive over the years by the almost infinite variety of color, pattern, and texture that is found in collections of knitters and museums around the world. Although I love the smooth, quiet repetition of knitting a rectangular scarf in garter stitch using a luxurious yarn, it is the endless diversity of technique and style that keeps me interested in knitting as more than a way to keep my hands busy while watching TV.

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
--from The Lord of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

by Donna Druchunas

While European knitters normally made mittens with pointed tips or by dividing the stitches into three or four equal sections for decreasing, I've used the North American style of maintaining the pattern all the way to the tip.

My version uses the Lithuanian three-color variation of Compass and Rose. All three (yes, three) mittens use the same chart, but I changed the sequence of colors for each, resulting in a trio that uses an equal amount of each yarn.

The mittens are made in such a way that they can be worn on either hand so, should you lose a mitten, it's really no loss!

photos: Dominic Cotignola

SIZE
Adult S [M, L]

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Hand Circumference: 7 [8, 9] inches
Length: 10.5 [11, 11.5] inches

MATERIALS
Yarn
Simply Socks, Hand Dyed Solid Sock Yarn [80% superwash wool/20% nylon; 175 yd per 50g skein]; 1 [1, 1] skein each of: Silver Lining, Burgundy and Turquoise

Recommended needle size
[always use a needle size that gives you the gauge listed below -- every knitter's gauge is unique]
1 set US #2 /2.75mm needles
1 set US #4/3.5mm needles

Notions
scrap yarn
yarn needle

GAUGE

32 sts/32 rounds = 4 inches in stockinette stitch over stranded color knitting

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

Make 3 mittens alike but change the color sequence as desired – designate one yarn as A, one as B, as C. The A color is the one used for the widest stripes in the ribbing, the C color is the one that is used only once in the ribbing.
You can copy my color arrangements, or choose your own.

Do not cut the yarns when not in use, but rather, run the unused colors up the inside of the mitten loosely.

Ribbing Pattern
Round 1: [K2, p2] around.

Charts
The charts for this pattern are very large and fit on a letter-sized page.
Click here and print the resulting page.

DIRECTIONS

CUFF
With smaller needles and A, cast on 48[56, 64] sts. Join to work in the round being careful not to twist stitches.

Work in Ribbing Pattern in the following stripe sequence:
A: 12 rounds
B: 4 rounds
C: 4 rounds
B: 4 rounds
A: 12 rounds

Start Hand & Setup Pattern:
Change to larger needles.

Next rnd: [K 6 (7, 8), m1] around. 56 [64, 72] sts.

Join B and C and work Rows 2-8 of colorwork chart once.

Thumb Gore Shaping :
Thumb Gore round: Work Thumb Gore chart over first 8 sts of round, place marker; work Colorwork chart to end of round.

Continue in pattern as set until row 9 of Thumb Gore chart is complete. 64[72, 80] sts – 16 sts between start of round and marker.

Size L only:
Next round: Using C m1, work in colorwork pattern as set over 16 sts, using C m1, work to end of round in colorwork pattern as set. 18 sts between start of round and marker.

Next round: Using C, m1, k1; work in colorwork pattern as set over 16 sts, using C k1, m1; work to end of round in colorwork pattern as set. 20 sts between start of round and marker—84 sts total.

All sizes: Continue in pattern as set until you have worked 3 repeats of the Colorwork chart.

Make thumb opening: Slip the first 16[16, 20] sts to scrap yarn and CO 8 sts over gap.

HAND
Work even in color pattern as established until 3[3, 4] repeats of chart are complete above the thumb opening.

Tip Shaping:
Work Fingertip chart, omitting chart rows 14-19 for sizes S and L. After all rows of chart complete, 7[8, 9] sts remain.
Break yarn. Thread tail through remaining sts and pull to close.

THUMB
Remove scrap yarn and place thumb sts on needles. Distribute across your needles as you prefer. With RS facing, rejoin yarn.

Sizes S + M only:
Round 1: Work across 16 sts following row 1 of Colorwork chart. Pick up and knit 8 sts over CO sts of palm, following chart. 24 sts.
Work in Colorwork pattern as set until 2 full repeats have been completed. Work rows 1-6 once more. Cut C.
Next rnd: With A, k2tog around. 12 sts.
Next rnd: With B, k2tog around. 6 sts.
Break yarn. Thread tail through remaining sts and pull to close.

Size L only:
Round 1: Using B k2, work across 16 sts following row 1 of Colorwork chart, using B k2. Pick up and knit 8 sts over CO sts of palm, following chart. 28 sts.
Work in pattern as set until 2 full repeats have been completed. Work rows 1-6 once more. Cut C.
Next rnd: With A, [k5, k2tog] 4 times. 24 sts.
Next rnd: With A, k2tog around. 12 sts.
Next rnd: With B, k2tog around. 6 sts. Break yarn. Thread tail through remaining sts and pull gently to close.

FINISHING
Weave in ends, closing holes at base of thumb if needed.
On the cuff, weave in the ends vertically on the wrong side of the ribbing. If you weave in the ends horizontally, you might stretch and distort the ribbing and reduce its elasticity. Don't worry that you are not working each end solely into stitches knitted with the same color.
Wash and lay flat to dry. Steam lightly with a hot iron if necessary to help even out the texture of the colorwork.

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

Donna Druchunas escaped a corporate cubicle to honor her passions for knitting, world travel, research, and writing. She is the author of six knitting books including Arctic Lace, Successful Lace Knitting, Kitty Knits, and Ethnic Knitting Exploration: Lithuania, Iceland, and Ireland. She teaches in the United States in Europe and has just started offering online sock-knitting classes at Craftsy.com.

Visit Donna's website at sheeptoshawl.com.