As our exploration of Finn comes to a close, I plan to expand on our theme from yesterday’s post where I laid out the pattern for a pair of Fair Isle gloves.

Finn is a great choice for hand coverings. Its fiber content has 50% acrylic, which makes it washable, 25% merino, which gives the gloves memory, and 25% alpaca, which adds softness and luxury.

Along the way, I’ve discovered the great mileage one gets from Finn. I made three Fair Isle samples and a pair of gloves from one ball of Jam and had enough left over to do the all the purple in both of today’s mitts!

Today, I’ll take yesterday’s glove pattern and convert it into Mittens and fingerless mitts. Let’s start with the latter, as it’s an easy conversion.

For fingerless mitts, work each piece according to the instructions given for the glove in my last post up to the top of the Chart. K 1 round A, then work another round, decreasing 6 sts evenly around (54 sts).

Next 3 rounds: (k2, p1) around.
Cast off in pattern.

Thumb

Pick up sts as given for glove. (scroll down and use the directions for the mittens below, as they are identical to the ones for the gloves.)

Next round: K to last 2 sts, k2tog. (18 sts)
Next 3 rounds: (k2, p1) around.
Cast off in pattern, weave in all ends. Wash, dry, and wear.

To make our mittens, I decided to shake up the colorway and use Rainforest as the main color. I also changed the motif coloring just slightly on the back of the hand. These “tweaks” show you even more ways to be creative with Finn.

For the mittens, I also changed the notation of the pattern and the charts to show a different style of pattern writing. This style, with multiple charts and assumptions that the knitter has a fair bit of knowledge about both knitting and the construction of mittens, is similar to what you might encounter in a magazine.

Making a knitter refer to two graphs on the same round isn’t my favorite way of writing a pattern, but it is one you’re apt to come across. This project is an easy way of learning to deal with them.

I’ve copied over all the instructions from yesterday’s post that relate to both the gloves and the mittens here, so you mitten knittin’ kittens can have everything in one place.

Before I continue with the pattern, I want to offer a few words of summary of my work with Finn.

Knitters sometimes talk about yarn in a humanistic manner. One of the things we say is, “It hasn’t told me yet what it wants to be.” Finn spoke to me before I ever held a ball of it in my hand. Even better, that “instant plan” that formed in my mind materialized in several incarnations: gloves, mittens, and fingerless gloves.

The mileage I got from about 40 dollars’ worth of Finn was exceptional. In addition to three sizable samples, a pair of gloves and a pair of mittens, I estimate that I have at least enough yarn left over from 5 balls of yarn to make two more pairs of hand coverings – or maybe a hat to match the mittens or gloves. The hours of knitting entertainment Finn offers for the money is a very efficient use of a knitter’s dollar.

This has been a good week of knitting, indeed.

Cynthia’s Fair Isle mittens

materials

yarn

• 1 ball of sport yarn (Finn) in each of 5 colors, A – Rainforest, B – Jam, and C – Hyacinth, D – Woodstar, and E – Rose Quartz

needles

• size 2½ US [3mm] knitting needles (double pointed or circular) or size needed to obtain gauge

other

• stitch holder
• stitch markers

gauge
32 stitches to 4″ [10cm]

Notes
1. Use chart A for the back of the hand and chart B for the palm. For the left mitten, work the palm chart first, followed by the back of the hand chart. For the right mitten, do the opposite.
2. Refer to the written instructions at rows 16 and 17 of the charts for placement of the thumb opening.
3. If you are not comfortable with grafting the top of the hand opening, replace that instruction with “cast off all sts, work thumb, then turn the piece inside out and sew the opening closed.”
4. Sections that are not identified “left” or “right” apply to both mittens.]

Cuff
Cast on 45 sts loosely. Join to work in the round.
Ribbing: *K2, p1; rep from * around.
Work ribbing for 3″.
Increase Round: *K2, in next st, work p1, k1; rep from * around (60 sts).
K 1 round.

Bracelet
With A and E, work Bracelet Chart.

Thumb gusset (left hand)
Rnd 1: K24, m1, k1, m1, k4, pm, k rem sts of round. (62 sts)
Rnd 2: K24, m1, k3, m1, k rem sts of round. (64 sts)

Work Palm Chart for 33 sts, pm, then work 2 repeats of row 1 of the back of hand chart (between the black vertical lines), then work the last stitch of the chart.

Continue through round 15 of the charts.

Thumb opening (left hand)
Rnd 16: Work palm chart for 29 sts. Put last 9 sts on a holder, then k3B, k1A. Work round 1 of the back of hand chart.
Rnd 17: Work palm chart to opening. Turn work, cast on 2A, 1B, 2A, turn work, then k1A, k1B, and k2A. Continue with round 2 of the back of hand chart. (60 sts)

Continue working in rounds. On the third repeat, stop after round 14. Break B.

With A, knit even in rounds until mitten is 1½” [4cm] less than the desired length. Slip one st from the back of the hand to the palm of the hand to make an even number of sts for each.

Shape top
Rnd 1: *K1, ssk, k24, k2tog, k1; rep from *. (56 sts)
Rnd 2 and all even rnds: K around.
Rnd 3: *K1, ssk, k22, k2tog, k1; rep from *. (52 sts)
Rnd 4: *K1, ssk, k20, k2tog, k1; rep from *. (48 sts)

Continue decreasing in this way until the following round:
*K1, ssk, 8, k2tog, k1; rep from *. (24 sts)
Break yarn and graft opening closed.

Thumb
Beg at center of cast on sts for palm, pick up 3 sts across cast on, 2 sts on the row end of the opening and k 1 st from holder. With second needle, k7. With third needle, k last st from holder, pick up 2 sts on the side of the opening, and k 3 sts across the cast on opening. (19 sts 6-7-6)
K in rounds until length from picked up sts measures 2½” [6.5cm] or desired length.
Next round: (K2tog) to last st, k1. (10 sts)
Next round: (K2tog) around. Break yarn and draw through rem 5 sts.

Make a second mitten, replacing the following sections:

Thumb gusset (right mitten)
Rnd 1: K 31, pm, k4, m1, k1, m1, k rem sts of round. (62 sts)
Rnd 2: K35, m1, k3, m1, k rem sts of round. (64 sts)

Work back of hand chart for 33 sts, then work palm chart for rem sts.

Continue through round 15 of the charts.

Thumb opening (right mitten)
Rnd 16: Work round 1 of the back of hand chart, then work palm chart for 13 sts. Put last 9 sts on a holder, then finish the round, maintaining the pattern on the palm.
Rnd 17: Work round 2 of the back of the hand chart and first 4 sts of the palm chart. Turn work, cast on 2A, 1B, 2A, turn work and finish the round, maintaining the pattern on the palm. (60 sts)

Refer to ”continue working in rounds,” above, to complete the right mitten.

Finishing: Turn mittens inside out and weave in all ends. Wash, dry, and enjoy.