Anton's Monster Mitts

It's been a while...

I've been making stuff for other people, and my poor kids have been missing out. Well, according to them, they have. I promised both of them a pair of mitts a wee while ago, but so far haven't followed through. So I had a look at the patterns on Ravelry, and couldn't really find anything I wanted to make that was in Anton's size, so I made it up as I went. He was home from school with a tummy bug at the time, and was watching Monsters Inc. on dvd. Between that and the slightly hairy look of the yarn I used, Monster Mitts were spawned.

The dimensions of these mitts are as follows:
5.5" long
5.5" around knuckles
5" wrist.
They fit my wee nearly 6 year old just fine, with room for growth.

The pattern will follow the usual blah blah which is along the lines of: Feel free to use the pattern to make mitts for yourself, your kids, your cats/dogs/giraffes whoever. You can use the pattern to make mitts to sell, as long as you credit me/link to my blog for the pattern. Let me know if something's unclear, or doesn't make sense, and I'll try to sort it out.

Monster Mitts

You will need:

Around 50g DK yarn. I used Magic Garden "Allsorts" which has approximately 123 metres. Because of the 30% polyester effect yarn, it's lighter than pure wool, and I have a little left (5-10gm) but if you were to use pure wool it might be closer to an entire 50gm ball.

3.75mm circular needles

3.25mm circular needles

Stitch marker

2 small safety pins or waste yarn for the thumb gusset stitches.

Using larger needles, CO 36 stitches. Join for working in the round with 18sts on each needle, and work 2" in 2x2 rib. (To make the mitts for bigger hands, increase your stitch count in increments of 4).

Knit for 1".

Now to begin the thumb gusset:

At the beginning of the next round, Kfb, then knit to end of round (37sts).

Next round: Kfb, knit to end of round (38sts).

Next round: (Kfb) twice, place marker (pm), knit to end of round.

Next round: Kfb, k2, kfb, pm, knit to end.

Next round: Kfb, k4, kfb, pm, knit to end.

Carry on like this until you have made 16 extra stitches before the marker. On the next round, place the extra stitches on the safety pins (8 on each) or onto waste yarn. Knit a further 4 rounds, ensuring that you pull the yarn tight over the thumb gusset join.

Knit the final inch in 2x2 rib, bind off loosely in rib.

Using the smaller circular needle, place half the thumb gusset stitches on each needle, and work 2x2 rib, joining to work in the round. Work 3 rounds, then bind off loosely in rib.

Work in the ends, and make its mate. Enjoy!

Target

Here's another freebie for you, this time fingerless mitts for men. These were made for my bf's Dad, who belongs to a gun club and enjoys his target shooting. I thought they might help to keep his hands warm in winter without impeding his aim. As always, use the pattern for whatever/whoever you like, but please credit me by linking back to my blog for the pattern. And if you find any errors or something isn't clear, let me know and I'll endeavour to fix it.

Target

You will need:

Approximately 60gms of fingering weight yarn. I used Haven by Naturally in black and Patonyle sock yarn in navy. You don't need 2 colours, they'd look just fine all in one colour.

If you're using 2 colours, I've called the cuff colour "colour A" throughout, and the hand colour "colour B"

2 small safety pins to use as stitch holders

2.5mm circular needles

A stitch marker or 2 if you feel more comfortable using them during the increases.

The pattern:

With Colour A, CO 68 sts. Join for working in the round, being careful not to twist stitches. You should have 34 sts on each needle.
K2, p2 rib for 2 inches, break colour A and join in Colour B.

Pattern rounds –
Rnds 1 & 2: K all sts
Rnds 3 & 4: K2, P2 around.
Continue working these 4 pattern rounds until you have worked a further 2 inches.

Thumb gusset –
Into the first st of the next round, kfb. Continue the round in pattern.
At the beginning of the next round, kfb, kfb, continue the round in pattern.
Next round – kfb, k1, kfb, continue the round in pattern.

Next round - kfb, k3, kfb, continue the round in pattern.
Continue increasing on each round until you have 29 extra sts at the beginning of the round. On the next round, work those sts and place them onto 2 safety pins; 15 on the first and 14 on the second. Forget about those sts for now, and continue with the remaining sts (you should still have 34 on each needle) in pattern for a further 8 rounds.

Finger cuff –
Break Colour B and rejoin Colour A. Work k2, p2 rib for another 2 inches (more or less, depending on the recipient’s taste in length), and cast off knitwise.

Thumb cuff –
Put the stitches from the safety pins back onto your needles. Pick up an extra 3 sts from between the thumb gusset and the main body of the mitt (this will help to close up any gaps) and knit 1 round with Colour A. K2, p2 rib for 7 more rounds, then cast off knitwise.

Do it all over again.

Work in ends, and wear with pride.

Magic Mitts

Magic Mitts

Here's another free pattern for you. Quick and easy, I whipped them up in a few hours for my friend's little boy. They would be easy to make bigger or smaller too, just add or decrease stitches in multiples of 4 (remember to adjust the thumb gusset accordingly). This pair fits approximately ages 4 to 7, there's a lot of stretch in them. And they look hideous when there are no hands in them! Just so as you know, and don't freak out while you're making them.

You will need:

2.5mm circular needles

Approximately 30gm fingering weight yarn

2 small safety pins to use as stitch-holders

2 stitch markers if required.

Cast on 48 sts and join for knitting in the round, 24sts on each needle.

K2, P2 rib for 3.5 inches.

On the next round, kfb, k1, continue knitting in rib to end of round.

On each round now, you will increase 2 sts to create the thumb gusset. So the next round will be kfb, kfb, *p2, k2* to last 2 sts, p2.

Next round: Kfb, k2, kfb, *p2, k2* to last 2 sts, p2.

Next round: Kfb, k4, kfb, *p2, k2* to last 2 sts, p2.

Continue increasing in this manner until you have an extra 18 sts, then on the next round, knit those extra sts and place half each on a small safety pin and forget about them for now.

K2, P2 rib on the remaining sts (you should still have 48 active sts) for another 2.75 inches.

Cast off knitwise.

Now you'll need to put those thumb gusset sts back on your needles, 9 sts on each. Knit one round, picking up 2 sts from where the body of the mitt joins the thumb. This will help to close any gaps, and means that you now have 20sts on your needles. For the next 7 rounds, *k2, p2* around, then cast off knitwise.

Work in ends.

As always, if anything doesn't make sense or is unclear, let me know! And again, as always, feel free to use the pattern to make gifts, or to sell the mitts, but please link back to my blog and credit me as the pattern designer.

Procrastination & Progress

Still working on the sock pattern. That's the procrastination bit.

The progress bit is that I have a cowl pattern for anyone who wants it. Feel free to print the pattern, use it for whatever, sell products made from it - but please, link back to my blog rather than posting the pattern online. There will be matching fingerless mitts to come, I've nearly finished those too, but for now, here's the cowl.

Sapphire & Steel Cowl

(Apologies for the blurry pic, I've only got my cellphone camera at the mo)

Ok, you will need:

• 3.25mm circular needles (ETA: I'm doing this again in fingering sock yarn and have discovered that the gauge is much looser. Perhaps the yarn I used previously might have measured sportweight by wpi. Would suggest a smaller needle size, just for the inside of the cowl, so instead of 3.25, maybe 3mm or even 2.75)
• 4mm circular needles
• fingering yarn (I've used a discontinued brand for this one, any fingering should work just fine. Would look lovely in a variegated/semisolid sock yarn). Approximately 70 - 75gm should do it. I used a fraction over 50gm for the prototype but it really does need to be longer.
• 1 x 1" button for accent

Cast on 156 stitches on 3.25mm needles. I used longtail cast-on, just make sure that your cast on is stretchy. Join for knitting in the round (be careful not to twist stitches).

Work in K3, P3 rib for 4". In mine I only did 3" but it is a little short in the neck.

Change to 4mm needles. Now is the time to stop working in the round, you will be knitting the rest flat (yep, backwards and forwards).

Knit 1 row, Purl 1 row. This will create the foldover. The side that sits nicely outside the cowl is the Right Side (RS).

Now you'll be working the opposite rib, so it'll be P3, K3 rib for the next 5". I only did 4" in the sample shown, but again, it could be a little longer.

Cast off/bind off (you choose depending on where in the world you are ;-p) after a wrong side row, knitwise.

Work ends in.

Sew button at the top of the cowl where you began to knit flat. I used that opportunity to close up the gap just a little so that it didn't gape too much.

Done! Now knit my matching mitts and you'll be away.