Mitten Quest

I'm making mittens for charity. So many charitable organizations ask for mittens this time of year and I like making mittens. For years I made two needle mittens for my kids and once they were grown I made them for charity. One year I made 30 pairs of 2 needle mittens for a charity my daughter was involved in when she was in grad school.

Once I learned to use double points, I tried 4 needle mittens but there were things I didn't like about the patterns I was using. The hand was too long and narrow, the decreases on the hand and thumb looked wonky, and so on. After much trial and error, I have finally found two mitten patterns that work for me. The first one is Elizabeth Durand's Basic Pattern for Children's Mittens and the second one is in a little booklet (Knitting to Share) that I purchased at Spin A Yarn yarn shop in Binghamton, NY. The booklet was published by The Southern Tier Needles and Skeins Knitting Guild of Vestal, NY. It contains basic patterns for hats, baby blankets, mittens, etc. Just the right size to tuck in my knitting bag for reference.

Here is a pair of mittens I finished a couple weeks ago using Elizabeth's pattern.



They are made from Paton's Canadiana acrylic yarn using size US 8 (5mm) needles in the 8-10 year old size. It was a partial skein of yarn and I think I originally used it for mittens.

Now I'm making a pair of mittens from the Knitting to Share booklet. They include patterns for both childrens and adult mittens. These are the childrens' mittens in the medium size.



The yarn is Lion Brand Wool Prints in Autumn Sunset. Size US 6 (4.25mm) needles. Again the yarn is from the stash. I have a habit of buying single skeins of yarn to use for mittens and hats and they need to get used up. The first mitten is done and I'm on the thumb gusset of the second one. I hope to finish it up today or tomorrow.