Mitten Knitting Practice With Milet Pattern

As soon as I saw the Milet mitten pattern, I knew I would try knitting it one day. The suggested yarn, Rauma Finull, is a wool yarn that I have never used. Come to find out an online store (The Woolly Thistle), which I’d been checking out, sells that type of yarn, which comes from Norway.

I’ve learned a lot from this experience. What I like and what I don’t.

Read on…..

Rauma Finull yarn from Norway
Rauma Finull yarn from Norway

Then, I learned that The Woolly Thistle, (referred to as TWT), is also sponsoring a knit-along (KAL) for mittens! What this means is anyone who wants to can join in and we all choose a pattern and “knit along” showing off our progress and finished mittens by the time the KAL ends.

I’ve done one KAL before, which was actually a MKAL (mystery knit along) for a shawl. It was intense for me, and we all knit the same mystery pattern. This mitten KAL is different because we each choose our preferred mitten, or mitts, pattern. I’m also a bit more experienced knitter, but not with colorwork. For this KAL, the mittens must be knit of at least two colors.

Have Yarn Will Practice

I was not at all sure I would join the mitten KAL because I’m not good with double-pointed needles, or knitting small circumferences (socks, mittens), and I’m a newbie at colorwork too. But I learn best when I jump in without thinking too much about it. I ordered the Rauma yarn and the mitten pattern (see link in first paragraph) and decided to begin knitting just to see how my gauge was.

Casting on a mitten cuff
Using DPNs to do the colorwork cuff

This will not be the mitten I knit for the KAL. I can’t start that one until the cast-on date of February 13th and I haven’t decided which pattern to choose. (If you want to join in, see the rules and participating designers – offering discounts on their patterns! – in the Ravelry TWT forum – you will have to sign in.)

I’m not used to casting onto small needles and I REALLY DISLIKE knitting the first few rows. I didn’t have the correct needle size, and decided to go up a size, since I usually have to. But wow, that cuff seemed huge!

Small Addi Flexi-Flips Are Sized Off…so I am knitting with larger needles than I thought!

Come to find out, a few of the smaller Addi Flexi’s are not true to size. The mm measurements don’t equal true US measurements. I intend to write a new post on all that, but in the meantime, my size 2 (US) is really a 2.5.

If you are shopping for Addi Flexi-Flips (three needle sets for circular work) be careful of the mm to US conversion which is not correct.

For instance, I ordered a size 1.5 US and was sent needles saying: 1.5 US / 2.75mm. But 2.75mm does not equal 1.5, it equals a size 2 US! Jimmy Beans Wool actually mentions this discrepancy in their Addi sales page.

Milet mittens cuff
Stranded colorwork cuff

This cuff is unique as it will be folded over, but it still seemed way too large. I almost stopped, thinking I would tear it out, but I decided to keep going with the smaller needle (which was bigger than I thought!). Now that I have gotten further along, I’m glad I kept going. Maybe the cuff needs to be larger to fold up easily? Also my arm is bare and when wearing mittens I would be dressed in heavy clothing. That cuff would have to fit over a sweater or shirt. (Things I forget about living in Florida.)

You can see the construction below and the green with white is the beginning of the hand. The cuff is inside out because it will fold up.

Milet mitten knitting
Milet mitten

See it on my arm with the cuff folded up to cover the yellow ribbing. I’m going to keep knitting and see how the first mitten comes out. The other mitten to this pair will be knit with a smaller needle.

My size 2 needles are Flexi-flips (are actually size 2.5), which are a bit strange to work with but better than DPNs. I kept dropping stitches so added little yarn blockers to the ends of the needle not being used.

Knitting a mitten in colorwork
Mitten cuff rolled up

I love the Rauma yarn and since it is pure wool, will make nice warm mittens (which I will never wear here in Florida, so I’ll have to travel to NH more often). I love this yarn so much that I am ordering a bunch of new colors (it comes in tons of colors!) to be prepared for the KAL. Because the Rauma Finull yarn comes from Norway, not all US stores carry it. Besides The Woolly Thistle, I have found it to buy at Wool and Company, who offers free US shipping with any order! (I bought my new Flexi Flips here, and there was no note about the size being off. I needed size 1.5 and now have size 2.)

Now to find a mitten pattern! Lots of designers are jumping on board and putting their mitten patterns on sale beginning Feb. 6th. I’ve already taken advantage of sales, which began earlier, to get some new patterns.

To Summarize:

I love Rauma yarn, but never found a mitten to knit with it for the KAL. Since then, I have used it to knit Katie’s Kep (a colorful, Fair Isle hat).

For the mittens, I used a DK weight (Brooklyn Tweed Arbor) and knit a faster pattern (two really) which gave me perfectly sized mittens. The Milet mitten ended up being something I did not like, so I never finished the pair.

Although I used the Flexi Flips, I was not crazy about them. They were not a lot easier than tiny circular, or DPNs. I won’t waste my money on more.

Got My First Yarn Order From The Woolly Thistle

While browsing knitting patterns on Ravelry, I found a pair of mittens that caught my eye. I live in Florida, so why am I interested in mittens you ask? I can’t wear much of anything I knit, so why not mittens?

The pattern that I want to make is called Milet and has a double cuff and cute colorwork. I’ve only ever made very simple mittens and I didn’t have a ton of fun knitting them because I dislike DPNs. This is the year I plan to branch out of my comfort zone and figure out how people enjoy making pairs (of socks, mittens, booties, mitts) and any small item knit in the round. I also vow to use new types of yarn.

By Hand book and yarn from TWT
My order arrived!

The Milet pattern calls for Rauma Finull PT2 yarn which is a wool from Norway and I found loads of pretty colors at The Woolly Thistle shop which happens to be located in my favorite place – New Hampshire! They offer lots of pretty wool from overseas which saves us knitters from having to pay for the shipping. (I also ordered the By Hand book which covers NH and VT crafters.) The candy was a treat included by TWT owner! YUM.

I hadn’t ordered anything from them, but had watched some podcasts. Truthfully I had no idea what to use the yarn for. Until I saw the mittens which specifically used Rauma yarn. Wool is best for knitting mittens and hats which need to keep body parts warm. I can’t wait to cast on!

Rauma Finull yarn from Norway
Rauma Finull yarn from Norway

It also happens that TWT (the Woolly Thistle) is having a knit-along (KAL) for mittens beginning February 13th. If you are a Ravelry member, see their forum KAL section here. Seems mitten knitting was meant to be!

Mittens to Consider

The hardest part of doing a mitten KAL is finding mittens to knit – because there are WAY TOO MANY to choose from. Also, I am looking for something I hope I will be able to actually knit. I’m not great at using DPN’s, and have only made one SIMPLE pair of mittens and mitts from the same pattern.

More mittens (and mitts) I have saved in my favorites section include:

Tuku Sock Yarn

I also ordered sock yarn from The Woolly Thistle which is part wool from Finland. Tuku wool gets great reviews, and since I hope to knit at least one pair of socks this year, why not make them wool socks? Wool not only keeps you warm, it helps keep you dry by taking water / sweat away from the skin. A lot of people don’t like the feel of real wool and believe it will be scratchy, but really, nothing beats real wool.

I love the fact that I can use wool that came from sheep living far away in Scandinavia. I have Danish blood. Maybe I can use Danish wool one day. It’s just kinda fun to have these options.

Tuku wool sock
Wool yarn from Finland

I got a nice thank-you for your order e-mail from The Woolly Thistle shop owner, and once the order was shipped, I got it within two days! The yarn is beautiful and I hope it will inspire me to branch out and try new things. Thy offer a lot more yarn I would love to try, including money saving spools, popular Jamieson & Smith, and tons more.

Frogging the Moose Hat

Frogging is a knitting term meaning “ripping out”. I have tried to knit this Moose hat twice with different colors of yarn (link to pattern below).

First I knit a yellow beginning row then brown for the brim. I tore that out. The pattern sample hat is white with two contrast colors, but I didn’t want a white hat. I was also trying to use up stash yarn.

I thought this would be a quickly done FO using up DS sharing HOTN within a day or two. Instead I had a TOAD! (Don’t understand Knitcabulary? Read this fun post at Knitfarious.)

This time I used Yarn Cafe Creations merino wool (blue, “The Ring”) with brown Spincycle for the moose motif. For the third color I used an off-white light fingering wool and combined it with mohair (think snow).

Moose Hat knitting
Purl ridge added for texture

I’ve learned how to carry floats with the left and right hand yarns while knitting projects like this. I’m no expert, and this was good practice. No knitting is a complete waste!

Trial and Error and My Mistakes

I did a little purl ridge to give some texture with the white (not a great idea!) and I began the moose design first instead of the trees. Many Ravelry comments from previous knitters mentioned that they should have done the moose first and that the hat gets too long with all the motif sections.

Because I wanted the moose, but no white, I envisioned the moose walking in snow with snowflakes falling above. The pattern actually has a row of trees, then moose, and more trees at the top. Each section is divided by two rows of a third contrast color. If the hat is knit according to the pattern, it will be quite tall.

Moose hat beginning knitting hat
Adding some mohair in the white rows

I Love to Knit Hats… But

The trouble with knitting hats is that you can’t actually try them on until they are nearly finished. The moose stranded knitting area seemed tight, which I guess usually happens with colorwork. From the brim to the main hat area the needle size goes up by 2, and I used a size larger than that because I know I am a tight knitter.

Moose hat pattern
Nearly done with the moose motif

Yesterday I got past the moose rows and wanted to do snowflakes instead of trees along the top. The off-white with mohair blended in with the blue variegated yarn and could barely be seen.

Now the hat was tall enough that finally I could try it on …. and I hated it! It was loose at the brim (I made the brim half the recommended length) and tight around the moose motif section. This is not the type of yarn I want for a hat either! (Note to self: don’t use sock / fingering yarn for a winter hat – unless it’s a man’s cap.)

I’ve decided to frog it. The pattern is not something I will try again, but I have the moose motif to save for another time – maybe a scarf / cowl / or mittens.

Link to the Moose Hat Pattern

Most of the problems I had with this hat were brought on myself and I don’t blame the designer. If you want to buy this pattern, or read comments from other knitters, find it at Ravelry: Beware of the Moose.

Beware of the moose hat pattern knitting project

I prefer my winter hats to be chunky, or at least knit in worsted weight, like my Quarry Hat, Simple Rasta Hat, or Star-topped Hat.

My next stranded knitting project will be a pair of mittens when I join the Woolly Thistle KAL.

Starting on My Make Nine Challenge

The Make Nine Challenge is something I saw on Instagram and found more about on this article at Home Row Fiber. Choose nine things to accomplish in the year 2020 that have to do with crafting. Mine will all have to do with knitting, but some people sew or crochet so mixing it up is fine. In fact it is very informal and a way for people to become more focused on their crafts.

I like the idea, because I love to write things down. Making lists is how I accomplish my tasks day to day. Being able to check something off makes me feel good too.

Make Nine challenge with my partial list of knitting goals for 2020
Quick sketch of my Make 9 projects / lessons to complete in 2020

What’s On My Make Nine List?

The image above is a quick list of some things I want to get done in the near future. You’ll notice I have 2 grids empty, but I bet I will be filling them soon. In fact knitting for the kitchen just came to mind as I added that Key West Karribean Kotten yarn photo (top blue and orange yarn).

First, I have three projects to finish, and I already finished one – the Namu Cowl. It’s checked off… whoohooo! Still to go is the Moon Sisters shawl and the Oxbow Cardigan. I’m not planning to finish them before I begin something else, but I am hoping I will be able to STICK TO THE GRID and not go nuts beginning other random projects.

There is a pair of mittens – Milet pattern (Ravelry)- I want to knit very badly. (Yes, I live in Florida and I knit mittens.) I just bought Rauma Finull wool from the Woolly Thistle to make them, but don’t have the pattern yet.

The Le Pouf cardi caught my eye recently and it’s such a cute little sweater. It’s a free pattern and it’s knit with sock yarn – so not too hot, which is perfect for where I live. I do wear sweaters a few times a year.

My best friend’s son and wife are having a baby – her first grandchild! – and I want to knit a hat with a fun colorwork pattern for the baby. Doing more colorwork is also a general goal.

I also want to knit a pair of socks that I like and can actually wear. I’ve been watching toe-up / magic loop videos on YouTube that are inspiring. I hate DPN’s so I want to get the hang of magic loop. ‘Keep learning’ is what I tell myself every day!

The soft look of mohair combined with fingering yarn appeals to me so I want one project to be made that way. Tin Can Knits has a pretty lacy pullover called “Love Note” which I may attempt to knit for my daughter.

As new patterns from my favorite designers come out, I may change my mind about what to make, but overall these are the projects.

Wooden knitting needles by clover

What Are Your Crafting Plans for 2020?

I’m lucky that I am older and my four kids are all grown. I also work from home, and that gives me more time to knit.

One of the biggest reasons I continue to expand my knitting knowledge is to keep my brain moving. I enjoy trying patterns that challenge me to figure things out. Learning about different yarns and what projects they work best for is interesting. As in gardening, you can’t just stick a plant in the ground, in knitting you can’t just grab any old yarn and expect it to work for any pattern. There is more to choosing yarn than by color.

I would love to know what you are planning to knit and which yarn you prefer. Please leave a comment… and fill in your Make Nine grid!

Do the Ravelry Challenge

If you are on Ravelry, go to your projects page and see the “challenge” sign on the far right side. Here you can list the number of projects you hope to complete for the upcoming year. Last year (2019) I hoped to do 5 and ended up with 14 finished projects! I totally underestimated myself! Ravelry keeps track and will give you a rundown at the end of the year (if you load your projects to their site.)

Photo grid of my finished knitting projects in 2019
Ten of the 14 projects I finished knitting in 2019

Left to right top row then bottom, here are the pattern names with blog posts and links to each.

For 2020 I chose 20 as my number of items to finish. I think I will do it, because some items will be small and quick, and I’ve already finished one – 19 to go.

I really hope to use up some of my yarn and keep myself from buying more (I love hate yarn sales!) Maybe I need to include stash yarn ideas in my grids too.