Fair Isle mittens
Simple colourwork and soft pure wool make for the perfect pair of spring mittens! By Faye Perriam-Reed.
Heritage knits at their best.
How gorgeous are these spring mittens? If you’re new to colourwork, this is a great project to start with. The mitts are a manageable size and use just two colours, so they won’t cause you any headaches. Cosy and simple, they’re sure to become a spring favourite you’ll wear year after year!
MITTEN (MAKE 2)
Cast on 40 ( 48) sts using 3mm needles and Yarn A, and join to work in the round, taking care not to twist sts.
Place marker to mark beg of round. Work in K2, P2 rib for 25 ( 35) rounds.
Change to 5mm needles. Work Rounds 1- 8 ( 1-18) from Chart for your size, increasing on Rows 3 ( 11), 5 ( 13), 7( 15) and – ( 17) in Yarn A where indicated by picking up the strand between sts where indicated and knitting into the back of it.
Round 9 ( 19) Work first 20 ( 23) sts of Chart, place next 7 ( 9) sts onto waste yarn for thumb, cast on 10 sts to RH needle using backwards loop method, pass last of these cast- on sts to LH needle and work this stitch tog with the next st as per Chart. This tightens the gap where the sts are joined.
Continue to work Round 9 ( 19) to end.
Continue to follow Chart as set to Round 36 ( 46), working decreases where indicated on Rounds 13 ( 21), 15 ( 23), 17 ( 25) and - ( 27). [40 ( 48) sts]
Change to 4 mm needles. Next round Knit using Yarn A. Dec round 1 *Ssk, K16 ( 20), k2tog; rep from * once more.
Dec round 2 *Ssk, K14 ( 18), k2tog; rep from * once more. Rep last round, working 2 sts less between the ssk and the k2tog on each round until you are left with 8 ( 10) sts.
Join the top of the Mitten with Kitchener stitch, or grafting.
THUMB
Slip 7 ( 9) sts from waste yarn onto LH needle and pick up 9 ( 11) sts from around thumb.
Place marker to mark beg of round. [16 ( 20) sts]
Next round K7 ( 9), ssk, K5 ( 7), k2tog. [14 ( 18) sts] Next round Knit.
Continue to knit in rounds until the thumb measures approx 5 ( 6) cm or desired length.