We have a double mitten for the second month of the year! The February Mitten is here!
The February Mitten is an all-over leaf-lace mitten, lined in a bright contrast color. This month we have a few new challenges lined up in order to keep things interesting. The payoff for working twice as hard is a super warm mitten for this normally frigid month.
The mitten starts with a lace cuff that is knit back and forth and is seamed with a 3-needle bind off. The stitches for the Outer Mitten are picked up from the flat edge and the leaf-lace is quickly established. Once the Outer Mitten is finished, the mittens are turned upside down and the lining is picked up in the same place and knit. The Mitten Lining is essentially the Basic Mitten from the very beginning of the year of mittens. Understanding this method of picking up twice in the same place can be a bit tricky, so we've posted a tutorial on our Tips and Tricks page.
Because of the all-over lace patterning, some of the central double decreases (CDD) fall on the last stitch before the round. We also have a tutorial on how to process these CDDs without altering the stitch count.
Once finished and blocked, the lining is pushed inside so the smooth stockinette is against your skin. The blocked lace looks so nice with the bright contrast yarn showing beneath. While these mittens do require twice the knitting, they will also be twice as warm!
SPECIFICATIONS:
YARN: The Fibre Co. Cumbria Fingering: grizedale forest (MC), helvellyn (CC), 1 skein each.
GAUGE:
28 sts + 32 rnds = 4” (10 cm) on larger needles in St st, after blocking.
26 sts + 42 rnds = 4” (10 cm) on larger needles in Lace Patt, after blocking.
NEEDLES:
1 - set US 1 (2.25 mm) DPNs.
1 - set US 2 (2.75 mm) DPNs.
NOTIONS: Tapestry needle, locking stitch marker, 2 yds smooth waste yarn of comparable gauge.
SIZE: 11” (28 cm) total length, 9” (22.75 cm) circumference.
SKILLS: Working lace from charts.
USEFUL TIPS:
There are four tutorials that you might find useful for the February Mittens. The first is one we use often for lace patterns, Working from Charts, and the second is a tutorial we created for the Basic Mitten that has been used often throughout this knitalong, Picking Up Stitches From Waste Yarn.
The next two, as previously mentioned, are specific to this mitten:
• For a visual guide in picking up the lining stitches after the Outer Mitten is finished, you can find a tutorial here.
• To see how to process a Central Double Decrease on the first stitch of a round, you can find a tutorial here.
You can buy the individual pattern via our pattern page here, or on Ravelry here. If you are a subscriber to the full year of patterns, your update notification should be waiting for you in your inbox!
