No fooling – the April Mittens are here! Inspired by the ingenious way the Irish Mittens we picked up on our yarn-designing trip back in 2015 were constructed, the April Mittens are knit in two halves: the back of the hand and the palm. The pieces are then joined around the edge using a crocheted slipped stitch. Because of this method, the April Mittens can be knit using one circular needle or a pair of straights, which makes them ideal for the knitter who doesn’t love using DPNs.
The cables running up the back of the hand were inspired by classic Aran patterns and the stitch pattern used on the palm is a basic broken rib, creating a sturdy fabric that is texturally interesting.
To create the thumb gusset, the increases happen on every row instead of every other row and then only one stitch is picked up at the back of the thumb. This makes for a very comfortable fit that follows the shape of the hand nicely.
SPECIFICATIONS
YARN: The Fibre Co. Cumbria Fingering: castlerigg, 1 skein.
GAUGE: 30 sts and 41 rows = 4” (10 cm) in Broken Ribbing on larger needles, after blocking.
Front Cable Panel (30 sts) = 3.25” (8.25 cm) wide.
NEEDLES:
1 – US 1 (2.25 mm) circular or pair straights.
1 – US 2 (2.75 mm) circular or pair straights
1 – set US 2 (2.75 mm) DPNs.
HOOK:
1 – US C (2.75 mm) crochet hook.
NOTIONS: Tapestry needle, stitch marker, cable needle.
SIZE: 11” (28 cm) length, 8” (20.25 cm) circumference.
SKILLS: Working cables from charts, basic crochet.
Along with the usual working from charts and cabling without a cable needle tutorials, this month’s mitten includes a tutorial that shows how to seam the edges with a crocheted slipped stitch.
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!