Okay, so I know it’s June. If you’re in the northern hemisphere, mittens are probably the last thing on your mind. Especially when those mittens are knit with that woolliest of woolly wools, Lettlopi. But let me make the case for knitting the Trinket Mittens in summer to you…
They’re small. They’re fast. They’re fun. They’ll get your creative juices flowing. And, come autumn, you can pull them out with the satisfaction of the Very Prepared. And of course, for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere, High Mitten Season is fast approaching!
I’ve knitted two pairs of Mary Jane Mucklestone’s Trinket Mittens (so far), so today, I’m bringing you some of the tips and tricks I’ve garnered over four fabulous mittens!
My first pair of Trinket Mittens alongside my Destination Scarf. Photo © Jesse Wild.
The Trinket Mittens start with a colourwork cuff, meaning you get to dive straight into the action. MDK Field Guide No. 17: Lopi contains a wealth of motifs that you can slot into your cuff, giving you lots of opportunities for customisation. For this first pair, I opted for one of the Lantern motifs and knitted the cuff exactly as written. Mary Jane uses a clever trick to let you work the folded back cuffs with no purling required. It works a treat for these mittens, but also could be used in any situation where you want a fold over hem. This video show you how it’s done: Changing Directions Using a Short Row for Mitten Cuffs (on YouTube)
A pattern this good deserves to be knitted more than once, though. When I cast on my second pair of Trinket Mittens, it was fresh off the heels of our March Confident Knitting knitalong, a celebration of the folded hem. I couldn’t resist a little Confident Knitting-Lopi mash up. So my second pair features a folded (rather than fold-over) hem!
Here’s how I did it. I cast on provisionally, and knitted the number of rounds equal to the number of rounds I anticipated being in my colourwork cuff (I used the Fleur de Lis motif for this pair). I then worked a purl turning round, worked the colourwork cuff, purled another round, then worked a joining round … all the same steps covered in our Confident Knitting folded hem tutorial (YouTube link). Then I proceeded with the mittens as written, with all my colourwork floats neatly encased in that tidy folded hem. Woot!
However you work the cuff, once it’s done, the mittens are pretty plain sailing. The only pit stop in your stocking stitch journey is inserting the thumb. It’s nothing too tricky, but a bit of knitting manoeuvring that can be helpful to see. You’d use the same principles to insert a pocket into a knitted item (we love pockets!). This video takes you through putting stitches on hold, the backward loop cast on and picking up thumb stitches: Setting Up a Thumb (on YouTube)
Whether you’re ready to cast on for some mittens this very moment or want to bookmark these tips for another season, I hope these tutorials come in handy! You’ll find copies of MDK Field Guide No. 17: Lopi in the online shop right now. My Lopi journey continues … I’m going to have one toasty family come winter!
A virtual trip to Iceland, with five inspired designs from Mary Jane Mucklestone. Modern Daily Knitting Field Guide No. 17: Lopi.