Persephone Mitt 1

2/16/08: This page, http://smariek.blogspot.com/2008/02/thoughts-on-increases.html, will show you my thoughts on thumb gusset increases and photos of this mitt in Morning Mist and Peacock colors. I redesigned the thumb gusset to wrap around the thumb, you can see this in the Peacock colored one in the two photos above.

Pattern: Persephone Fingerless Mitts
Yarn: Elann Baby Cashmere, Dusky Lavender, 2 balls
Needles: 2.75 mm (US2)

I mentioned earlier that I was trying to create fingerless mitts to match this Persephone Scarf but couldn't figure out how to fit the pattern into a small mitt's width using the same DK weight yarn. I chose Baby Cashmere in the some colorway (woohoo!) as the scarf and hoped it would work out. I've never designed a mitt before (unless you count the simple tube I made earlier) so this was all new to me and I really had no idea what I was doing, whether I was approaching it correctly or on the right track. I certainly hoped it was going to work out because it takes forever to knit fingerless weight yarn using 2.75 mm needles! This is the smallest needle size I've ever worked with and it took some getting used to, but it felt comfortable after finishing the first mitt.

Overall, I don't think the mitt came out too badly. It fits my hand, which means it is an x-small/small size. That means it won't fit very well on anyone with much larger hands, viz. the rest of the population. :-( So my next goal is to try and tweak it into a slightly larger size.

Unlike the previous tube I made, this one has some minor shaping. I added a sort of gusset for the thumb.

Here's the happy pair. Do you think it goes well with this scarf? I love this dusky lavender color, it is so pretty. And this yarn is very soft!

Stitches used in this mitt include:
Knit-One Purl-One Ribbing, BW1 pg 39
Knit-Two Purl-Two Ribbing, BW1 pg 39
Pattern 16.19, HG5 pg 39
Stockinette Stitch, BW1 pg 10

First I must apologize if this does not conform to "standard" mitt pattern format. I am not a professional pattern writer and this is my first attempt to type up detailed instructions for a mitt. I've tried to transfer my notes/scribbles into something that I hope makes sense. I would appreciate any feedback you could provide that would help make this more readable.

I also want to note that these mitts are a ladies x-small/small size.




Persephone Fingerless Mitts Pattern:
Persephone Fingerless Mitts Pattern from Box.com (no registration required, just click on link & save file)

Yarn info from Elann:
Fibre Content: 60% Baby Alpaca/ 30% Merino Wool/ 10% Cashmere
Made In: Peru
Care: Hand Wash/ Dry Flat
Gauge: 28 st/4 inches 3.25 mm (US 3)
Yardage: 100 m (109 yards)
Size: 25g (0.88 oz) ball
Price: $3.30 USD

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