Felted Wool and Mohair Mittens With Inside Cuff
December 4, 2006 
New pictures added 1/07/07 2:24pm CST
Revised instructions 12/15/2006 9:15pm CST
Yarn:
Douceur et Soie (70/30 baby mohair/silk, 225 yards per skein) – 1 skein
Patons Classic Wool – 1 skein in MC and small amount for inside cuff in contrasting color
Needles: Size 10 ½ (6.5mm) double point needles or size needed to obtain gauge of approx. 4 sts per inch in stockinette stitch.
Size 4 (3.5mm) double point needles – these are used for the inside cuff of the mitten only
Finished felted size: 9 inches long from edge of felted cuff to tip of mitten. They have a snug fit. The measurement does not include the cuff you will knit to attach inside the mitten.
Cast on 40 stitches using one strand of each yarn. Divide over three needles, join stitches, be sure not to twist.
Round 1 – 6 = purl each round
Round 7 – 22 = knit each round
Round 23 = on first needle, M1, K1, M1, place marker, knit to end of round
Round 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36 = knit entire round
Round 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35 = M1, knit to marker, M1, slip marker, knit to end of round.
Total stitches = 55
Round 37 = Place the 15 stitches before the stitchmarker on a stitchholder for the thumb. Cast on 1 stitch over the opening, knit to end of round. You are now back to 40 stitches.
Next: Knit 21 rounds.
Begin decreases:
Round 1 = K6, K2tog, rep to end of round
Round 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 = knit entire round
Round 3 = K5, K2tog, rep to end of round
Round 5 = K4, K2tog, rep to end of round
Round 7 = K3, K2tog, rep to end of round
Round 9 = K2, K2tog, rep to end of round
Round 11 = K1, K2tog, rep to end of round
Cut yarn, run yarn through the last 10 stitches. Fasten off.
Thumb
Place the 15 stitches from the stitchholder onto 3 needles, dividing evenly. Attach yarn, pick up 3 stitches, knit to end of round. Total 18 stitches.
Round 1 – 10 = knit entire round
Round 11 = K2tog, rep to end of round, 9 stitches remain
Round 12 = knit entire round
Round 13 = K1, K2tog, rep to end of round, 6 stitches remain
Cut yarn, run yarn through the last 6 stitches. Fasten off.
Felt Mittens
Make both mittens and felt them together using your favorite felting method.
Inside Cuff
Using the size 4 needles and the contrasting color, cast on 40 stitches, knit 22 rounds, bind off.
Turn the dried felted mitten inside out, place cuff over mitten, stitch the cuff in place at bottom edge of the cuff (the end nearest the thumb). Turn mitten right side out, enjoy the warmth!
NOTE: You might want to pin the cuff in place and check to be sure it’s sticking out as much or as little as you like from the inside of the mitten before stitching it down.
Pre-felted
Felted (here’s a link to see it larger: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=349194461&size=o
Closeup of the cuff area
Stitching on the cuff
Really cute! Can’t wait to see a lighter color to see more detail. I was wondering, could you some how knit the cuff on? perhaps before felting or after?
Hi Nancy, thanks for stopping by!
I don’t know a way to knit the cuff on ahead of time but you might be able to after IF you don’t felt the wool too tightly and can still see some stitches to pick up, do you know what I mean? I’m going to post a picture of a lighter colored pair I did earlier this year – they have a fun fur outside boarder so they’re not quite this pattern. I made them for a friend in the One Skein exchange. I’m almost done with the second mitten for the picture I want to put out here, just been so busy with the holidays that I got behind. I promise to have it out by Jan 1st!
I note the gauge is given at 7 stitches oer inch on yarn knit double on 10.5 needles. I guessing this is a typo. What isthe real gauge?
Thanx and happy knitting!
Hi Debby, I think you might be reading this wrong. The mittens are knit on double point needles so that you can knit in the round. The 7 stitches per inch is correct on a size 10.5 needle. Even though you are knitting with two strands, one of them is almost the thickness of string (the mohair) so you’ll still retain a gauge of 7 sts per inch even with 2 strands of yarn. Make sense? Did I answer your question?
Trust me, just follow the pattern as written. I’ve made at least a dozen of these and it works everytime. Keep in mind that even if your gauge is a little off, you’ll be felting the mittens so they’re going to shrink. If you end up with a larger mitten before felting, not a problem. You’ll still be able to felt it to whtatever size you need. If fact, you’re better off ending up with a larger mitten than one too small prior to felting.
Patty
I created a similar kind of mitten but instead of sewing on the cuff, I pick up stiches from 1.5inches above the bottome edge of the mitten, which created a really nice contrasting line in the felted part of the mitt. Looked like a ’sewn line’ on a pair of jeans.
I then braided two short pieces of the main colour together with on of the cuff colour and attached it to the outside edge as an additional Norwegian type detail.
I was going to make a bunch of these and sell them, but I decided that knitting was a gift from the Gods and I offer my small designs and ideas for free…
As an added gifty bonus, I made a matching mitten out of Fimo clay, complete with braided embroidery floss, to create an ornament for the gift, which can then be hung on the tree!
They make fabulous mitts for digging one’s car out from the ice and snow – hands never get wet and the windows come clean! Just be sure to wash your mitts regularly!
Cheers,
J
How hard would it be to size this up for a man? You wouldn’t think it’d be hard to find a good mens felted mitten pattern, but it is. Any help would be appreciated…