24.9.04

Kureyon Mitten Kitten

I did a little re-organizing last weekend and found these mittens in the bottom of my basket.



Mittens are fun to make, so simple and quick. One of the first things I ever made were mittens. My first pair were made of white and purple Red Heart yarn knitted together for a nice chunky tweed-like effect. They were warm and toasty, and actually some what waterproof. This was important for playing in the snow at recess. Though the mittens kept me dry, the cuffs were too short and uneven so when I stretched my arms I exposed my wrist to the cold and snow.

These Kureyon mittens are knitted with size 6 needles. I have teeny tiny wrists, and if I remember correctly, I believe I casted on 36 stitches, and increased two stitches evenly after completing the cuff. Keep knitting for a couple of rows before doing the thumb gusset. Once you've increased the thumb hole to the size you want put the stitches on a holder and work the main piece to the top of the forefinger, and start the decrease. After the the decrease is just slightly above the middle finger, go a couple of more rows if you like roomy mittens, stop and graft the stitches. Half an inch from the top of the thumb is when you'll want to do the decrease.

To get the colorway to match you'll need two skeins. The best bet is to find two that start with the same color,and eyeball that both skeins contain the same color combination. These two skeins can yield two pairs of mittens, though I have small to medium hands.

I have to say that Fern is difficult to wear. The front opening is really wide making it very easy to slip off the shoulders. The wrap front is hard to keep tidy. You'll need a pin or something to keep the left, or inside, front in place or else it will fall and hang unattractively underneath the right front.

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