Man is it wet.
Soggy.
Saturated.
I believe the sheep are truly coming to appreciate the merits of the shed with its nice metal roof and comfy straw bedding.
Since the weather has been miserable here and absolutely no good for taking photos, I thought that this week I’d relate my general Smittens recipe for anyone who’s looking to do something similar-
The beauty of the Smitten is its simplicity. Its just a basic mitten, but the proportions are just right, and the shaping actually fits a real human thumb.
You could certainly spice it up easily enough, with some texture or some fancy colorwork.
But I think a well executed plain Smitten is a just right all by itself.
I did both these pairs on size 3 needles. The colored pair turned out a little larger just because the yarns was a little bit heavier.
Assuming you’re getting somewhere in the ballpark of 6 stitches/inch, cast on 48 stitches.
Knit (in the round, on DPNs) 1×1 ribbing for about 20 rounds.
Then knit one round plain.
Thumb gusset:
The first 3 and last 3 stitches in the round are the base of the thumb.
Increase one stitch on each side of the thumb gusset every other round three times, then every third row 3 times.
Once you’ve completed the gusset increases knit about 10 or 11 rounds even. Stop just short of the gusset stitches on the last round and put the gusset stitches on a piece of yarn to hold them while you’re working on the rest of the hand.
Rest of the hand:
Cast on four stitches (backwards loop method works fine), and reconnect with hand stitches on the other side of the thumb gusset.
Then knit about 2 more inches even (until you reach the tip if your little finger).
Fingertips:
Start decreasing on the pinkie side first. It’s a modified wedge-toe type of decrease. Do two sets of decreases (every other round, pinkie side only), then do three sets of decreases (every other round, both sides). Then decrease every round three or four times.
Graft together remaining stitches.
Back to the thumb.
Pick up 6 stitches in the gap (one in each of the newly cast-on, and one in each of the “corners”.) Knit one round.
Narrow thumb- decrease (towards the outside) on each side of four center stitches, every other round, 3 times.
Then knit even about 12 rows. k1, k2tog around, knit around, k2 tog around, yarn through remaining 6 stitches and tie off.
That’s all there is to it.
It’s a great way to use up odd bits of handspun, and they make nice quick-to-knit gifts.
And I’m afraid we probably still have plenty of good mitten wearing weather ahead of us.
Dreaming of sunnier days-
Denise
