My Mittlet

Fingerless mittlets knit up quickly.  In chunky yarn this one took just the better part of the 6 o'clock  news..

 

 I didn't have any chunky yarn so I doubled up on some Country Style DK weight.   (Did you know that yarn doubled gives you approximately two thirds the original gauge?)    My 22 stitch DK yarn, when  doubled, gave me 14 stitches.  You are welcome.

You can see that I took Deb's challenge and added a pattern to  the back of the hand.  It is  - for those that want to copy - P2, K4, P2 -  for 8 rounds.  On round 2 of the 8 rounds, switch the K4 to CB2. That is slip 2 stitches to a cable needle and hold at back of work.  Knit the next 2 stitches, then knit the 2 stitches held on the cable needle.  

I love the mittlet.  I love the different gusset construction.  Look at that decidedly, angled row of increases.  Very stylish, I say.  And I love the fact that creating  the thumb hole leaves no extra holes.  Common to mitts, is the gap produced at the sides of the thumb hole.  Not here.  Look.

And if you decide to give Deb's pattern a try, know that when she says to knit 1 1/2 inches beyond the thumb, she is right.  Of course I didn't believe that  1 1/2  inches could possibly  be long enough so I kept going.  In the end I had mittlets that were way too long.  I ripped back.  Twice.  Satisfied at last with the length of my mittlet, I put it on and came to the laptop to type.  Oops!  Still too long.  That is if I want to used my pinkie for anything. Another rip in order.  Trust Deb.

Nice pattern Deb.  Thanks for the freebie.

Mittlets

Catching up on blog reading just now, I see Deb Gemmell - she of my new favourite technique, the underarm bust dart - is in the process of writing another knitwear book.  I was about to call it a pattern book, but  Deb's books are often more 'recipe' than pattern.  Perfect for the way my brain works. 

Anyway this latest endeavour is about accessories and on her blog,  Deb has asked if readers might be interested in knitting up  her mittlet pattern and giving her feed back.  I think I might just do that.  Knit with chunky yarn, it shouldn't be a never-ending project like some I knit, but rather a done-before-dinner type.  My favourite kind.

  Digit Design, I am calling it.  Fun with needles in which I get to give Deb the finger. 
"Er,     um,    I mean"     give Deb 4 fingers, one thumb.  

More On Colour BLock

Figuring I have only a few more post opportunities   to rave on about my creative process  for Colour Block before you are all bored to tears   - if you are already there, sorry, skip today's post - I want today,  to tell you about my Gemmell/Hunter style bust darts.

Deb Gemmell and Robin Hunter in their book Need A Plus Cardigan?   shape the sweaters in a 'new-to-me ' method.  The back of the sweater has less stitches - is less wide - than the front.  What gives the front it's extra width are underarm increases that form the cutest little darts.  These darts, in a Top-Down sweater,  begin once the sleeves are separated from  the body and are worked every other row until the front is increased to  desired width.

Clever!! Or What.!!  Not to mention easy.  Two of my favourite attributes.  Since colour block was all about innovation - top-down construction, simultaneous, set-in-sleeves, Contiguous  (of a sorts)  shoulder and sleeve cap shaping,  asymmetrical front, four different colours, then 'What the heck?'

Why not try one more, new-to-me, construction quirk and go for the underarm bust darts.  Despite  being too small to use a pattern from the book, nonetheless, I followed Deb's method for creating those underarm darts.  Increase one stitch at each underarm, every other row, making sure the increases slant towards the bust until sufficient stitches have been added to give the front it's required width.  First attempt and, sorry for my vanity, but I think they look great.

Being top down, the normal advice is to knit until the sweater is of desired circumference before separating the sleeves from the body. In the case of my sweater, I stopped 2 inches short of my desired circumference, put the sleeves on waste yarn, then continued with the body, adding one inch worth of front stitches at each underarm.  That gives my back 50% of total body circumference MINUS   2 inches and the front 50% of body circumference PLUS 2 inches.  48% plus 52% = 100% with extra fabric only where needed.  The more amply endowed amongst you could make that 50% minus 3 or 4 or more inches for the back and the reverse for the front.  

Anatomically correct, sweater design.  Never too late to learn a new trick.