Zane's Striped Mittens & Hat
made to match his Land's End down coat I got last April from the
Overstocks in Dark Balsam and Fern. I started with the Lion Brand Family of Mittens pattern
and made a bunch of changes. Zane is 3, but wears around size
5
in clothes. The mittens fit him perfectly, the hat fits now,
and
will probably fit for a while to come.
(click picture for close up)
Gauge
mittens: 22 stitches / 29 rows
per 4 inches on
size 6
needles, stockinette stitch
hat: 9 ribs (unstretched) / 28 rows per 4 inches on size 7
needles, 2 x 2 ribbing
Yarn
1 skein
Paton Decor "Sublime" color #1716
(I think it is discontinued), lot #1 (light green)
1 skein
Plymouth Encore Worsted Weight
"Olive" color #045, lot #23329.
Both are 75% acrylic, 25% wool and machine washable and dryable.
Needles
I used
mittens: 1 pair
size 6 Denise
interchangables, 1 pair
size
4 Clover bamboo
hat:
size 7
and
size 8 Denise
interchangeable as a circular needle.
Finished Width
mittens: 3 1/4 inches
across the palm, about 4 1/2 including the thumb
hat: 11 inches unstretched, 21-23 inches stretched
comfortabley
(fits on my 24.5 inch head, but is a bit snug and ends at
about
my earlobes. If I didn't have as much hair, it would probalby
fit
me too)
Finished Length
mittens: 7 1/2 inches
hat: 10 inches
Stitches
M1 (make 1)
An increase worked by lifting horizontal thread lying between the
needles and placing it onto the left needle. Work new stitch through
the back loop.
ssk
(slip, slip knit) Instead of
slipping the first two stitches as if to knit (like typical ssk), I
followed the improved ssk instructions which
match a k2tog better. You slip the first stitch as if to
knit, the next as if to purl, then insert left needle into
fronts of these 2 sts and k them tog.
The Mittens
The mittens are worked
flat, from the
cuff to the fingertips, then going back and finishing the top of the
thumb. The two edges are what will end up being on the
outside
edge of your hand, with the bump for the thumb right in the middle.
Here is a photo of a mitten in progress.
(working the rows right after the thumb gusset. The thumb is
what is being held on the 'stitch holder' extra circular.)
Cuff
Using smaller needles cast on using a cable cast on for 35 sts, leaving
tail that will be used to do the seams later.
Row 1 (WS): P1, (k1, p1) across.
Row 2: K1, (p1, k1) across.
Rep Rows 1-2 for
approximately 2½ inches , ending with WS row, K
across row,
then change to larger needles. Beg with a purl row, work 6 St st rows.
Thumb
Gusset
Row 1 (RS): K17, place marker, M1, k1, M1, place marker, k17
Row 2 and all WS rows: Purl.
Row 3: K to marker, slip marker, M1, k to last st before 2nd
marker, M1, slip marker, k to end. (note: do the M1
after
you have knit the last stitch before the marker, which means the marker
is sort of in the way. If you knit it before the last stitch
it
will make the thumb look goofy)
color
change notes: after you have 5 stitches in the thumb gusset,
work 3 rows in
darker color, then three rows in light color. The thumb
gusset will be
ready to put onto the stitch holder when you have completed 2 rows (out
of 3) of the darker color again.
Rep Rows 2-3 until there
are 13 sts between markers. P47 sts.
Palm
(RS) K17 sts; remove markers, place
the 13
sts on stitch holder or strand of yarn; k17 (the rest of the row). Cont
in St st until piece measures about 6 1/2 inches from beg. (11 rows
since thumb gusset ended) End on a WS row, placing a marker
between two center sts.
color
change notes: after the thumb gusset, there is one more row
of
the dark color. This time, you won't need to break the yarn
because the lighter color is only two rows before you pick the dark
color back up again. Then 8 rows of the dark color until the
shaping starts. (total of 11 rows since the thumb gusset ends)
Top Shaping:
Row 1 (RS): ssk, k to within 2 sts of marker,
k2tog; slip marker; ssk, k to within last 2 sts, k2tog.
Row 2: Purl. Rep these 2 rows
until you have 22 stitches left (don't purl once you hit 22 stitches)
When you have 22
stitches left (11 per side of marker), stop at end of RS row, without
finishing the last purl row. Kitchner Stitch the top of the
mitten.
Thumb Top
1st row: With RS facing, return sts from holder to larger
needle. Join yarn and k across.
2nd row: P5, p2tog, p6.
3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th row: stockinette stitch
7th row: K2tog
around. Cut yarn leaving a tail; thread tail into needle and back
through rem 6 sts as for Top, twice.
Finishing
Using tails, seam cuff, palm, and thumb. I used these
instructions for making an "invisible seam" and was happy
with the results. Darn opening beneath thumb. Darn in ends.
The Hat
The hat is worked from the brim to the crown. Worked in
circular,
either with a circular needles or dpn, or some combination of these.
The color sequence I used was 4 inches of the dark color, 2
rows
light green, 3 rows dark green, 3 rows light green, 3 rows dark green,
the rest is in light green.
Brim
& body of the hat
With larger needle, cable cast on 98 stitches, join and work in
circular. Work 2x2 ribbing (2k, 2p) for 1 1/2 inches.
Change to smaller needles, continue working in pattern for
another 1 1/2 inches. (this it to help the hat lay flatter
when
the brim is rolled up). Go back to the original needles and
continue working until the peice measures 8 inches, incorporating color
changes as desired.
Shape
top
1st row: p2tog the purl pairs, k the knit stiches
2nd, 3rd, 4th rows: purl the purls, knit the knits (will be
..., p1, k1, k1, p1 k1, k1, ...)
5th row: k2tog the knit pairs, p the purl stitches
6th row: purl the purls, knit the knits (will be ..., p1, k1,
p1, k1, ...)
7th row: from the first k stitch: *k1, p3tog*
around the circle
8th row: k2tog all stitches around the circle.
Should have 13 stitches at the end.
break the yarn, put on a tapestry needle to pull it through the
remaining stitches. Pull tight to close the circle and poke
it
back through the top to start weaving in the ends on the inside.
