Space mitts
I didn’t plan on publishing a pattern for these mittens, but people seemed to like the project, so here goes!
The mittens are worked from the cuff. Increases for the thumb are made with a gusset on the side. The pattern is
mirrored on the second glove – I’ve only been able to do this in a way that also mirrors the row numbers. Sorry!
This pattern is not recommended for people who’ve never knit a glove before. If you’ve got a few gloves under your
belt, you will probably be able to adapt it to your needs. I made it to gift to a woman with average hands.
Materials:
Fingering weight yarn in two colours: MC and CC. 50 grams of each should be enough for a pair of medium
women’s hands.
3 mm knitting needles for the body of the mitten– cable needles or sock needles, your preference.
2,5 mm needles for the cuff
Adapting to bigger sizes
You can use a heavier weight yarn to get a bigger size. You can also increase the number of stitches on the side, but
this will only make the glove broader, not higher. Use the number of stitches in the pattern and the circumference of the
recipient’s hand to calculate if the fit will be good.
Pattern
1. The cuff
Cast on 58 stitches in MC. Join in the round and mark the beginning of the row.
Knit in k1, p1 pattern for 4 cm.
Switch to bigger needles.
Have trouble joining in the round without stitches twisting? Knit one row flat, and then join. A layperson
won’t notice.
Don’t want to increase in the next row and don’t care much about a tight cuff? Cast on 60 stitches and
ignore the set up row.
2. Set up row
We’ll be increasing two stitches to get to the total of 60 stitches needed of the pattern.
K1, make one (M1R or increase on this row of your choice – no yarn over increase), k27, make one, k29.
You should now have 60 stitches.
3. Latvian braid (optional)
The principle behind the Latvian braid is that you twist two strands of yarn around eachother on the
front side as you purl. Yes, this can get annoying and messy. The threads will untangle in the end, but
depending on your yarn, you might want to untangle every now and then as you go.
For a more pleasing result than mine, mirror the braid when knitting the second mitten. Do this by
switching row 2 and 3.
This video is a good source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vk9t882obM
Row 1 (setup round): Knit one stitch in MC. Join CC. Now knit to the end of the round: k1 MC, k1 CC.
Row 2: Move yarns to the front. Purl the colours as they present: MC on MC, and CC on CC. Keep the strands at the
front while purling and keep moving one strand from under the other.
Row 3: Work the first stitch as in row 2. Starting from stitch 2, twist the strands over eachother.
Row 4: Knit all in MC.
4. The mittens
We now start working the mitten via the chart. The planets go on the back of your hand. Use this to
orient the place of the thumb.
Option one: two identical mittens.
On the left hand mitten, the thumb will go on the right of the planets. So you start the thumb
gusset on the 59th stitch.
On the right hand mitten, the thumb will go on the left of the planets. So you start the thumb
gusset on the 29th stitch.
Option two: mirrored mittens
Start the thumb gusset on the 29th stitch.
Work the chart, including the thumb gusset, until row 19. On row 19, put the thumb stitches on scrap yarn. We’ll finish
this later.
Continue working the chart.
On row 52, the decreases for the top of the mitten start. Use k2tog to make a right leaning decrease, and a ssk to make
a left leaning decrease.
When you have 8 stitches left, break the yarn, thread it through the stitches, pull tight, and tie off. Weave in ends.
5. Finishing the thumb
Put the scrap yarn stitches back onto needles.
Pick up four stitches when closing the loop. Continue with the gusset chart as your guide until you’ve reached just about
the end of your thumb.
K2tog all around.
Then thread your yarn through the remaining stitches, pull tight and tie off.
You’ve reached the end of your space journey!
Charts
