first pair of mitten a success!!

[geekgirl]

I decided to make mittens using the magic loop method instead of double pointed needles. It took a bit to start them but once I got going they went pretty quickly. Of course, now it is just warm enough not to need to wear mittens!!

The yarn is really beautiful- hard to tell from the pics. It is flecked with all kinds of colors. Now that I've made one pair- I see tons of striped mitten presents being given to friends and family next holidays!!

[knittykat]

Fabulous!  My first pair of mittens didn't look nearly so good!

Kat

[bibe]

They look really nice. The color looks great too with all the variation in there.

[emling]

Those look beautiful.  I want to know more about the magic loop method--I'm used to dpns at this point, but they still drive me a bit batty, esp when you get down to just a few sts.  

[hijole]

Those are great mittens -- you'd never know they were your first pair.  Wow!


Can't wait to hear about the magic loop method.

[melidomi]

Great mittens!  Could you post a pattern, or tell us where you got it?  I'd love to make some mittens, but I'm always afraid of the gaping hole where the thumb joins - yours don't seem to have that problem.

[geekgirl]

I got the pattern here:

http://www.knitting.about.com/library/blmittens.htm

about.com has tons of knitting patterns that are free!

I might not have followed the pattern exactly (I have issues with following rules, and I don't often have the patience/focus to count rows and increases). I kept trying them on as I knit them to make sure that they fit my hands.

In terms of holes in the thumb seam- I had a couple small ones that I stitched up afterwards (I am not opposed to cheating!). I would actually change the pattern a little next time I make these:

It tells you to pick up 3 stitches when you begin working on the thumb and then to knit around, knitting 2tog in the 2 places where holes would happen (on each side of the 3 picked up stitches). I would, in hindsight, pick up 5 stitches, and then knit a row and then decrease to the recommended amount of stitches- and I think that that would take care of the little holes I ended up with. Otherwise the pattern is very simple and I could imagine memorizing it and knitting up tons of mittens!

have fun! -Wendy

[kayray]

Nice mittens!

I googled for "magic loop knitting" and found this page:
http://www.az.com/~andrade/knit/mloop.html

Neat-o! I'm trying it on the sleeve of the sweater I'm knitting.

Kara

[Goddess]

you did such a fab job!