Barbara's I-Didn't-Reinvent-The-Wheel Mitts

There they are. My pride and joy. Flawed? Hell, yes. But all mine.

Take a good look at them. It's better than one of those "What's wrong with this picture?" puzzles we worked as kids. I'll bet you can find five mistakes without even trying.

But why not let me do it for you. And not in a bad way. This is a learning process and I am delighted to say I'm learning a lot.

The one on the right is the first one I did. See how the K2P2 ribbing fights the pattern? I managed to work my way around that in the second one by doing a K1 instead of K2 at one of the needle changes and that small change made a big difference.

See the bump at the top right of the righthand mitt? That's part of the thumbhole. Not my finest hour . . . or best decision.

Here are some stats:

Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran - needed less than 1 skein
#5US Addi Turbos - Magic Loop

42 stitches
I used K2P2 ribbing but wouldn't do that again. I'd use K1P1 ribbing -- less obtrusive, much more graceful.

The pattern stitch is as follows:

(multiples of 7)

Round 1: *K1, P2, TW, P2; repeat from * to end of round
Rounds 2-4: *K1, P2, K2, P2; repeat from * to end of round

TW: K2TOG leaving both sts on left needle; K again into first st on left needle and slip both sts off needle.

I worked the pattern to the point where I wanted a thumbhole opening and used one of the methods mentioned in Voodoo Wristwarmers on the Knitty site. I'm not sure I would do that again. The faux cable pattern stitch exerts a certain amount of stress on the stitches and any weakness or tendency toward holes is exacerbated by the almost crude nature of the buttonhole opening. (Even one that's reinforced to a certain degree.) I think the fortified thumb in Knitty's Fetching design or even a full-out gusseted thumb joint would work better.

I needed to tidy up the stretched-out parts and holes during the finishing process.

BTW: long-tail cast on and normal (loose) bind-off.

The stitches maintain their integrity on the back of the hand but the cable stitches slant very noticeably to conform to the contours of the palm and pad of thumb. Not a major problem but it threw me initially.

And there you have it. It ain't much but it's all mine and overall I'm very happy with 'em.