Tips & Tricks

Year of Mittens: August Mitten

Its here! The first pattern in the Year of Mittens, the August Mitten! The cables on the August Mitten are inspired by the rich history of intricate stitching that is common in Ireland and the British Isles. Combining The Fibre Co.'s British wool yarn, Cumbria Fingering, in the traditional sea-blue Windermere, and intertwining columns of cables of traditional Aran sweaters, make this mitten a true homage to our neighbors across the pond. Cast on your mitten, turn on Ewan MacColl (or The Pogues, if you're so inclined) and transport yourself across the sea! The August Mitten begins with a fitted ribbing and features an intricate diamond cable flanked by two 4-stitch cables on the front of hand. The palm and gusseted thumb are worked in moss stitch. The thumb is worked with a gusset, creating a nice fit. These richly cabled mittens are a great project to get you headed into cooler weather that is surely on the horizon! Small projects make summertime stitching bearable, and this little mitten packs a nice amount of knitting interest into a small package. SPECIFICATIONS YARN: The Fibre Co. Cumbria Fingering (60% merino wool, 30% masham wool, 10% mohair; 328 yds/100 gm skein): windermere, 1 skein. GAUGE: Cable Panel (36 sts) = 3.75” (9.5 cm) on larger needles, after blocking. 40 rnds = 4” (10 cm) in cable pattern on larger needles, after blocking. 27 sts + 40 rnds = 4” (10 cm) in moss st on larger needles, after blocking. NEEDLES: 1 - set US 1 (2.25 mm) dpns. 1 - set US 2 (2.75 mm) dpns. NOTIONS: Stitch marker, tapestry needle. SIZE: 11” (28 cm) total length, 8” (20.25 cm) circumference. SKILLS: Working cables from charts, increasing, decreasing. We have three tutorials related to the pattern that you might found helpful. Two are oldies but goodies, and one, an in depth lesson on swatching and measuring gauge in cable pattern, is brand new specific to the year of mittens! • For a tutorial on working cables from charts, visit our tips and tricks page here. • For a tutorial on cabling without a cable needle, visit the tips and tricks page here. • For a tutorial on swatching and measuring gauge in a cable pattern, visit the tips and tricks page 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 PDF is waiting for you in your inbox!