Wine and Roses Mitts, Interweave Knits Winter 2006

I had mentioned before the fingerless mitts going into Interweave Knits(at the time I could not remember if it was the fall or winter issue). They will be in the winter issue due out in November. You’ll have to scroll down towards the bottom to see it on the page. I have been very excited about this, as this is my first appearance in an American knitting magazine…let along my favorite. I had a design and three articles on choosing colorways in Britian’s Knitting last year, and that was exciting too.

To make the mitts as pictured you will need Jade Sapphire Mongolian Cashmere 2-ply (100% cashmere; 400 yd [366 m]/55 g): #039 slate, 1 skein.

What I really had in mind with this design initially was something romantic and feminine, and something to keep my hands warm when the weather turns chilly. We keep the thermostat a little lower. Okay, I know for many of you that 68 or 70 hardly qualifies. But we live in a 100 year old farmhouse, and it is just a wee bit drafty. I will freely admit I get cold easily. I like the temperature to be around 72 year round.

These mitts fit the bill perfectly for keeping hands warm indoors in a lavish bit of self indulgence. They are feminine, fun, and functional. They combine a variety of techniques, too, which make for interesting knitting.

The cuff at the sleeve end has an edging gleaned from Latvian Mittens, there is a variation of a simple eyelet pattern that utilizes purled decreases rather than knit decreases to change the texture, an Estonian lace pattern, and a variation of a picot hem which is done using pebble stitch at the fold line.

Pebble stitch is worked as follows: on RS row, k2tog across taking care not to work tightly. On following WS row *k1, M1 by knitting into running thread between sts. Rep across from *. This is best done with a stitch worked plain on at least one end of your knitting, but as you would do this between selvage stitches you would not need to worry about adjusting for an odd or even number and having a running thread at the end to work into – just don’t use your selvage stitch to complete this pattern and you are good to go.

Thanks to Tara Swiger, of BlondeChickenBoutique for sending me the link to Interweave’s winter issue. Tara has a business with handpainted yarns and her site is both ecologically conscious and entertaining.

Peace and Knitting, JoLene