Regina Mitts

2/16/08: This page, http://smariek.blogspot.com/2008/02/thoughts-on-increases.html, will show you my thoughts on thumb gusset increases.

Pattern: Regina Fingerless Mitts (my own design)
Yarn: Elann Baby Cashmere, Rose Heather, 2 balls.
Needles: 2.75 mm and 2.75+ mm (see below)

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They're done! They're done! I'm so excited that they came out OK. I'm still very new at knitting mitts. These are only my third! My first mitt was just a simple K2P2 tube with a hole in it for the thumb, that's pretty much as basic as it gets. My second mitt was a slight improvement, with a more interesting cable design and a slight gusset for the thumb that doesn't actually wrap around the thumb. This was mostly out of laziness, of wanting to knit from one end to the other with only 2 ends to weave in. For this third mitt, I decided to fiddle around with a wraparound thumb watchamacallit (what do you call that part of the mitt that wraps around your thumb or finger?). I like how it came out and have changed my mind. It's definitely worth joining yarn and weaving 4 loose ends.

Sorry, no photos of both mitts worn together. I couldn't figure out how to hold the camera in my mouth to take that shot. ;-) However you can see the right mitt worn here.

I designed these mitts to match my Regina Scarf, which I've been wearing whenever I go out. As you can see, the mitt isn't exactly like the scarf. There just wasn't enough space on the mitt for me to include the outer cable. These mitts fit my hand, so that would be an x-small/small size. They keep my hands warm and happy. :-)

The pattern isn't exactly alike on both mitts. This is intentional. I tried to mirror them by starting the pattern on different rows. So you start a full 5-bobble branch on the outer side of the mitt from the wrist cuff.

Yeah, these photos of the mitt not worn don't look very good. The pattern really shows better when it is worn on a hand. The mitts look much better when you see them in real life. I think the right mitt looks a little better than the left mitt because I had some trouble with the left one. There were a couple of times where all the stitches fell off one of the needles! And there were times when I dropped stitches, and the knitting got stretched this way and that way while I was trying to fix it. Of course, I'm the only one who would notice where these events occurred.

I had some needle size discrepancies. I used circular needles, all Susan Bates that were labeled "US2" and "2.75 mm". Some were 2.75 mm, some seemed more like 3.0 mm. I could feel the the size difference in my hands. The larger ones didn't fit the 2.75 mm slot of my Susan Bates needle gauge. CatBookMom suggested getting a needle gauge from Nancy's Knit Knacks, so I'll have to see where I can get one. I'll need at least two. One to keep in my project bag, another to keep in my circular needle storage place.

Despite this needle size discrepancy, I didn't notice any difference on the actual knitting. I think I can say that I've gotten comfortable with knitting with these itty bitty needles. Then when I switch back to using 4.5 mm or 5 mm needle projects, they feel like they go so much faster. Anyhow, I really feel like there may be socks in my future...

I'm not sure if there is any interest in a pattern for this mitt. Bobbles on mitts?! It's not a very practical design, although they do look pretty.

February 10, 2008 Update:

I've typed up the pattern. :-)

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 second attempt to type up detailed instructions for a mitt. I've tried to transfer my notes/scribbles into something that I hope makes sense. It is a bit more verbose than I would like because the Left Mitt and Right Mitt are done slightly differently because the cable pattern is not identical. I wasn't sure how to write this up in a shorter fashion. I'm afraid the whole thing reads more confusingly than it actually is. However I've made this available for anyone who is interested. 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.



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


Stitches used in these mitts include:
Knit-One Purl-One Ribbing, BW1 pg 39
Knit-Two Purl-Two Ribbing, BW1 pg 39
Pattern 2.1, HG5 pg 16
Pattern 2.1, HG5 pg 16
Pattern #99, NKSL pg 64
Stocknette Stitch, BW1 pg 10

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Yarn info:
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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