Knit Mittens

Happy Friday! Today I want to share two pairs of mittens that I knitted in the last few months. They've both been getting a lot of wear so far this winter!

Mittens are the real reason that I wanted to learn to knit. I remember seeing Adrian Bizilia's Fiddlehead Mittens on Flickr back in the day and it was love at first sight. Ever since then I've wanted to knit so that I could make my own. I've been knitting pretty consistently for the last two years, and I finally convinced myself I was ready to tackle mittens this past November. One weekend, I was looking for a project to work on, and I decided I'd just go for it! I knit a pair of quick mittens with super bulk yarn (see them here), and I finished them that weekend. They're a bit small, and a little wonky, but I made them!


I was so excited that mittens were no longer this far off thing to tackle. I immediately cast on another pair, this time out of worsted weight yarn. I used a skein of Sun Valley Fibers yarn that I picked up at the Sows Ear a while back. It's dyed here in Wisconsin, which is fun! Plus it matches my most used hat and cowl, bonus! They're super soft and warm!


I am not a huge fan of magic loop or DPNs, so I powered through on a pair of 9" circulars until I got used to them. Now they are so easy and comfortable to use, I'm thankful that I made the effort to stick with them. I don't think I'd knit mittens any other way now! I still had to do the thumbs and decrease with magic loop, but that's fine with me! For this pair, I used Tanis Lavallee's Grammy's Mitts pattern. See more on my Ravelry.


Once I finished my second pair, I was sort of itching to make a pair of mittens for Michael. He didn't really have any good mittens and I thought it would be fun to make a pair for him. Of course he wanted convertible mittens. I was a little nervous about knitting them, but they really weren't hard!


For his pair I used this delicious smoky gray Malabrigo Rios yarn. I wanted something that would be able to take a bit of a beating, but was still primarily wool for warmth. They're a perfect fit and he has been wearing them a lot!


The only part that I had a little trouble with was picking up the stitches on the back and starting the mitten top correctly. Just took a little fiddling to wrap my mind around it! Then it was smooth sailing. I used the Red is Best pattern by Jane Richmond. See more about these mittens on my Ravelry.


I'm so pleased with how the mittens I've tackled have turned out so far! I am SO close to trying my hand at the Fiddlehead mittens. I am currently working on another colorwork hat, then I think I'd like to knit one more pair of mittens. Then, the game is on!

Have a great weekend!