Four Rib Braid Cable Mitts

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Pattern: Four Rib Braid Cable Mitts
Yarn: Elann Highland Wool, pink (need to verify specific color name)
Needles: 4.5 mm (US7)

I guess I really love this Four Rib Braid cable pattern because I find myself returning to it. It began when I used this cable for this cable bag (pseudo-pattern). Then when DH got me an iPod Touch for my birthday, I decided to use the same Four Rib Braid cable pattern on the iPod Sock (pseudo pattern) I made for it.

I use my iPod daily so I see the Four Rib Braid cable pattern when I take it out of its iPod Sock. There is something ineffably appealing about its familiarity. And then I couldn't help but think what a wonderful cable pattern it would be on a pair of fingerless mitts!

Thus this mitt was born…

Here are the modifications I made to my iPod Sock outline to make these mitts:
-- Worked 8 rounds of ribbing at wrist.
-- Worked 2 repeats of pattern, plus 3 more rounds ending on row 3.
-- Worked 6 rounds of ribbing at end of mitt.
-- Slapped on a thumb. 16 stitches, 4 rounds stockinette, 2 rounds K1P1.

Improvements for next time:
-- Try improving on the ribbing so that there is a seamless transition from ribbing to cable pattern. Already have idea in mind for how to do this. :-)
-- Try 12 or 14 stitch thumb next time. The 16 stitch thumb seems a smidgen too large.
-- Try stockinette stitch for the thumb next time. I thought the K1P1 on the thumb would prevent the stockinette from rolling, but I don't like how this looks in the worsted weight yarn.

I could type up an outline or pseudo-pattern for how to make these mitts, however I think you can easily figure it out by looking at my outline for the Four Rib Braid iPod Sock I made.

Would you believe I still have to weave in the ends? I am so lazy...



I need to make another pair for someone with MUCH larger hands. I think it would be embarrassing to make her mitts that are too small for her hands, so I'm planning on doing the following:
-- Cast on 44 sts (or maybe even 48 sts?) to make a larger mitt.
-- Make the palm side of the mitt ribbing (instead of stockinette) for more "stretch" factor.
-- More stitches in thumb to make it larger.
-- Pray that the mitt will fit. :-)

Take a look at what I received in the mail today! These are my very first Knit Picks Harmony DPNs, size 4.5 mm (US7). I did not know what to expect. I was afraid they might be too bright/colorful in a gaudy kind of way. They're gorgeous!

The DPNs are 8 inches long, you can see how it compares to the Four Rib Braid Cable Mitt. The rectangular thing underneath is Nancy's KnitKnacks needle gauge. I love it! It includes the non-standard needle sizes like 3.0 mm. That makes me happy! I need a few more of these. This is way better than the Susan Bates needle gauge. Thanks Barbara for turning me on to these! She is the Wise Woman of Los Angeles. Ask her anything and she will advise you well.



I was hoping to have more to show you guys. I do have something, but it is a secret, so y'all gonna have to wait until February. It'll be a nice surprise. And if you think that's gonna kill you, imagine how I feel wanting to tell you all about it!!!

Still waiting for my Knit Picks nickel plated DPN set to arrive. It's on back order until 23 Dec 2008. Sigh. I want to play with them NOW!

I threw out a few more books for the Throw Out 50 Things by 1 Jan 2009 thing (see 3 Dec 2008 post), I'll post about that another time. I also have yarn to show you. I meant to do those things yesterday but lost much of my day running around doing "non-me" stuff, spending time at urgent care, and having DH at home when he decided to take the day off at the last minute. I didn't get any computer time yesterday and had hoped I could catch up on blog reading yesterday.

We put up our Christmas tree. Missy enjoyed helping with that. She keeps asking, "is today Christmas?" She has simple concerns. She keeps asking whether the tree will still be there when she wakes up the next morning. I think she's afraid we'll take it down or that it'll disappear, even after many assurances that the tree will still be there until Christmas day and that we will all help to take it down.

I've started wrapping some gifts to put underneath the tree. Missy likes to handle the gifts. By the time Christmas comes around, people will receive gifts wrapped with well-crinkled paper! I might even end up re-wrapping some of the gifts if they look really shabby by then.

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