Because it's either a pair of mittens or a tank of gas...

I'VE FALLEN IN LOVE!!


               ...With a pair of mittens.


Mittens are kind of an addiction for me.  I love hand knit mittens...they just feel SO COZY!!

So when I saw these beautiful little The North Face mittens at Dick's Sporting Goods, I knew they had to be mine....
    
...Until I flipped them over.  $35 is just a WEE bit out of the budget for mittens (even though I SERIOUSLY thought about donating plasma to afford them).

But then I decided to bring out my inner knitting diva.  I went home and found a picture of them online. 

I HAVE NEVER MADE MY OWN KNITTING PATTERN EVER.

But these mittens were definately worth it.  I whipped out one of my trusted knitting reference books and actually had an audible GASP when on page 95 I saw a VERY SIMILAR pattern that these mittens had.

So I busted out some needles, and this is what I came up with. 

***I HAVE NEVER MADE A KNITTING PATTERN BEFORE****
          If there are mistakes of if anyone has suggestions on how I can better this pattern, PLEASE let me know so I can fix it.

WICKER PATTERNED MITTENS

MITTENS ARE MADE USING MAGIC LOOP METHOD (if you need instructions on how to do magic loop, a good resource is www.youtube.com).

Items needed:

Size 8 circular needles, 32 inches long
Size 8 DPN
Stitch holder
2 Stitch markers


YARN: Any medium/ worsted weight yarn, preferably a wool/ synthetic blend.

GAGUE: 16 stitches +24 rows = 4 inches in stockinette

STITCHES:

• C6B = Cable 6 back; Place 3 stitches on cable needle and hold in the back of work, knit the next three stitches, knit the stitches on the cable needle.

• C6F = Cable 6 forward; Place 3 stitches on cable needle and hold in the front of work, knit the next three stitches, knit the stitches on the cable needle.

• M1R = Make one right. From the back, lift loop between stitches with left needle, knit into front of loop.

• M1L = Make one left; From the front, lift loop between stitches with left needle, knit into back of loop

**(If you need any help with how to do a particular stitch, you can always watch videos on http://www.youtube.com/. They have tons of videos on how to do different stitches.)



CO 44 stitches

Round 1: Join in the round, k2, p2 ribbing
Round 2-12: k2, p2 ribbing

Round 13 & 14: knit
Round 15: k20, k3, (C6B) x 3, k3
Round16 & 17: knit
Round 18: k20, (C6F) x4
Round 19: Knit

***REPEAT ROUNDS 13-19 x 2***

Round 34: k16, k2tog, k26
Round 35: k2, k2tog, k39
Round 36: k21, (C6B) x3, k3
Round 37-39: knit
Round 40: k18, (C6F) x4
Round 41: knit


LEFT HAND GUSSET


Round 42: k16, place stitch marker, M1R, k1, M1L, place stitch marker, k25 (44 stitches)
Round 43: knit
Round 44: k23, (C6B) x 3, k3
Round 45: k16, slip marker, M1R, knit stitches b/w markers, M1L, slip marker, k25 (46 stitches)
Round 46 & 47: knit
Round 48: k16, slip marker, M1R, knit all stitches b/w markers, M1L, slip marker, k1, (C6F) x4. (48 stitches)
Round 49 & 50: knit
Round 51: k16, slip marker, M1R, knit all stitches b/w markers, M1L, slip marker, k25 (50 stitches)
Round 52: k29, (C6B) x3, k3
Round 53: knit
Round 54: k16, PLACE ALL STITCHES B/W MARKERS ON STITCH HOLDER, k25




RIGHT HAND GUSSET

Round 42: k1, place stitch marker, M1R, k1, M1L,place stitch marker, k40
Round 43: knit
Round 44: k23, (C6B) x3, k3
Round 45: k1, slip marker, M1R, knit stitches b/w markers, M1L, k40
Round 46 & 47: knit
Round 48: k1, slip marker, M1R, knit all stitches b/w markers, M1L, k16, (C6F) x 4
Round 49 & 50: knit
Round 51: k1, slip marker, M1R, knit all stitches b/w markers, M1L, k40
Round 52: k29, (C6B) x3, k3
Round 53: knit
Round 54: k1, PLACE ALL STITCHES B/W MARKERS ON STITCH HOLDER, k40




TOP OF MITTEN

Round 55: knit (41 stitches)
Round 56: k17, (C6F) x4
Round 57-59: knit
Round 60: k20, (C6B) x3, k3
Round 61-63: knit
Round 64: k17, (C6F) x4
Round 65-67: knit
Round 68: k20, (C6B) x3, k3
Round 69: k2, k2tog, k9, ssk, k26 (39 stitches)
Round 70: knit
Round 71: k2, k2tog, k7, ssk, k26 (37 stitches)
Round 72: k13, (C6F) x4
Round 73: k2, k2tog, k5, ssk, k26 (35 stitches)
Round 74: knit
Round 75: k2, k2tog, k3, ssk, k26 (33 stitches)
Round 76: k11, k2tog, k3, k2tog, k6, ssk, k3, ssk, k2 (29 stitches)
Round 77: k12, k2tog, k3, k2tog, k3, ssk, k2, ssk, k1 (25 stitches)
Round 78: k2, k2tog, k2, ssk, k3, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k1(19 stitches)
Round 79: k8, k2tog, k3, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k1 (16 stitches)
Round 80: k2tog, k1, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k1, (k2tog) x3 (10 stitches)

Graft stitches together using Kitchener stitch (once again, you can check out http://www.youtube.com/ if you are not sure how to do Kitchener stitch).



THUMB


Divide 9 live stitches on to 3 dpn with 3 stitches on each needle.

Round 1: knit across stitches. Pick up 4 stitches in the gap. Join in the round. (13 stitches)
Round 2: knit to last 4 stitches. (k2tog) x2 (11 stitches)
Round 3-12: knit
Round 13: k2tog, k1, k2tog, k1, (k2tog) x2 (6 stitches)
Round 14: (k2tog) x3, k1 (4 stitches)

**Cut thread long enough to bring through the live stitches. Cinch.


WEAVE IN ENDS, BLOCK AND ENJOY!!

Cable pattern courtesy of 400 knitting stitches.  Potter Craft. Pg. 95.  Murdoch Books, 2007.