Now that I have my yarn (Alafosslopi) and my roving I will be casting on to knit my first pair of thrummed mittens.

I’ve been researching how to do this. On top of needing a thrum-making tutorial, I want to knit mittens with the side gore / gusset / and NOT an afterthought thumb. This makes mittens able to be worn on either hand. This was a surprisingly difficult task.

The Roving Has Arrived

In case you have not purchased roving before, this is 4oz. of roving… plenty to do a pair of mittens! I suspect I will have lots leftover. This gold, orange, green color is just so lovely.

Information on Thrumming

In my search, on Ravelry and elsewhere, I came across these sites for thrummed mittens. None had exactly what I was looking for, but all had some degree of information I could use.

So, I asked myself if I need to buy another new mitten pattern, or can I simply add thrums to a plain mitten pattern which is offered for free (Tin Can Knits – World’s Simplest Mittens)?

• Expression Fiber Arts tutorial and pattern – Bulky wool, afterthought thumb. (Notes: Cast-on 16, size 11 needles.)

Ways to Add the Roving to Knitting and Make The Thrums

Here are a couple of ways to add a bit of roving to stitches while knitting.

Very Pink Knits has a video on making thrums here. She knits into the stitch below, wraps the thrum, then knits the stitch and does a bind off of the thrum.

AllAboutAmi has a video about making thrums in mittens. She knits the thrum and yarn together on the first round, and then knits them together through the back loop on the next round.

Knitting My First Pair of Thrummed Mittens

For my first pair of thrummed mittens I am using bulky Alafosslopi yarn combined with roving for the thrums. The Alafosslopi yarn is leftover from knitting the Carbeth Cardigan and is “ecru” color so I chose a more subtle roving color.

I found a favorite color roving at Paradise Fibers called Constellation Range merino and silk combed top in “Orion” colorway. I have no idea if this will work well for my mittens, but I absolutely love the color.

First I researched many mitten patterns to find the best way for me to try mitten thrumming. I also did some searching for roving to try. You can read that planning blog post here.

Beginning my thrummed mittens

I failed miserably at trying to get gauge with Tin Can Knits “World’s Simplest Mittens” in chunky weight. This means that I will basically have to figure these mittens out as I go.

I know the basics for knitting a side thumb, so I began with a size 6 needle for the ribbing and then switched to size 8. After a couple of rows I began to increase for the thumb, but soon noticed that I had a lot more rows to knit before the thumb was in the right place!

I am doing a thrum every 4th stitch around and alternating them on every 4th row. The thumb area is getting random thrums. I think the thrums look okay, and I can try the mitten on as I go to make it fit.

I have to say that I am super pleased with this roving. It’s the only roving I’ve ever had, and it is incredibly soft. The colors are exactly as pictured on the Paradise Fibers site and shipping was very fast. It makes me wish I knew how to spin my own yarn. Maybe something new to learn down the road as handspun yarn is so beautiful.

Will add photos when I get these mittens finished!

Mitten Knitting and Reviews

Please keep reading about my knitting adventures.