Knitch Magazine

What is holding you back from making a pair of mittens? Don’t let fears of working on double pointed needles keep you from one of the most satisfying knitting projects.

Consider that mittens take very little yarn, can be knit at a looser gauge than socks, and provide an excellent canvas for experimenting with color or texture. Mittens require only a few skills, making them an excellent beginner’s project. If you can cast on, increase and decrease, you are ready to start.

Fit is a simple matter and the mittens can be tried on for fit as the work progresses. For maximum warmth, the mitten needs to be slightly larger than the hand, allowing air to be trapped in the mitten, insulating the fingers. Make the mitten slightly loose around the widest part of the hand and slightly longer than the longest finger. That’s all there is to it.

Gauge: If the mittens will be used to build snowmen and toss snowballs, strive for a tighter gauge that will be more waterproof and keep out chills, but avoid stiff-as-a-board tension -- mittens need to be flexible. If the mittens are intended for use as a fashion accessory, let the yarn dictate the gauge. You can knit mittens in anything from very fine yarns to super bulky weight. Mittens can also be felted or “fulled” if knit very loosely. Refer to one of the many books and web resources for guidance on felting.

Edge: The cast-on edge must be flexible and elastic to match the tension of the cuff. Long-tail cast-on is a suitable and reliable cast-on method for mittens. If you want to add interest to the edge of the mitten, use a two-color casting on method or choose between knotted and braided cast-on techniques.

Cuff: Cuffs should fit snugly around the wrist to keep out cold air. For a good air seal, the cuff should be at least 1 ¾ inches for children and 2 to 3 inches for adults; longer if you want to fold the cuff. Ribbing, either 1 x 1 or 2 x 2, is the most common treatment for cuffs. Ribbing yields a stretchy cuff that fits easily over the widest part of the hand, but settles back into a tight closure at the wrist. For elasticity, the ribbing can be knit on needles one or two sizes smaller than the hand of the mitten. Many “folk” mittens launch into the color pattern immediately after the cast-on edge; these mittens do not have a distinguishable cuff.

Hand: The hand of the mitten provides a simple canvas for color pattern, textures, cables, or stockinette stitch. It is knit straight from the cuff, with a gusset in the side seam to make room for the thumb. The top of the mitten is shaped by regular decreases that begin after the hand of the mitten is long enough to cover the top of the little finger.

Thumb Gusset: The thumb gusset is the probably the only challenging part about making mittens. Historically, mittens and gloves are some of the earliest knitted garments. Over time, many methods of fitting the thumb into the mitten were devised. Some of the very primitive methods require no shaping and thus are easy to execute, but they don’t fit as well as a shaped gusset. The fitted thumb gusset is inserted by making a series of paired increases in the side of the mitten beginning at the base of the wrist. When the mitten is wide enough to accommodate the widest part of the hand, the stitches are placed on a length of yarn to hold them in place while the rest of the mitten is finished.

Decreasing: The decreases for the hand and thumb can be arranged to form either a round or a flat top. In a round top, the decreases are spaced evenly around at 4 points, creating a rounded top. The decreases are introduced gradually by knitting one or two plain rounds between the decrease rounds. Decreases made too rapidly will result in a pointy top with little room to move the fingers. Too few decreases will result in a loose baggy top.

The flat top is shaped by using paired right and left slanting decreases on each side of both side seams. Here again, the mitten is decreased at four points, but the decreases are paired at each side seam. This results in a straight line decrease and rectangular shape. Decreases in color patterns can be worked more easily using a flat top, and it can be worked to a point or squared off and finished with Kitchener stitch.

Thumb: The thumb stitches are picked up on double pointed needles after the hand is completed and knitted in a small tube to cover the thumb. For a custom fit, measure to the middle of the thumb nail; the average adult thumb is about 1 ½ inches long from the pick up round to the point of decreasing. Decrease using the same method as used in the hand, and finish off.

The simplest mittens knit for newborns are simply tiny cuffed tubes with no thumbs. Custom fit mittens require only a little more planning and skill. Knit them in chunky bulky yarns, fluffy mohair, or flashy fun fur. Choose bright crayon colors or subdued natural tones. If you want to try a Fair Isle or color pattern, but don’t feel comfortable about shaping the top, knit the cuff and top decreases in the background color and add a band of color pattern over the hand and thumb. Try your hand at knitting mittens; you’ll be glad you did.