Yesterday I cast on my mitten project for The Woolly Thistle knit-along. Needle size 1.5 (cast on and now cuff ribbing), and size 2 for flower color-work cuff. Size 2.5 is called for, so I may go up a size for the hand. My trial knit for this Milet pattern was large.
Casting on
My daughter helped to decide on colors – but we had to pick from the ones I already had because there was no time to order more.
Accomplished the floral cuff the first day of knitting
Color switch: Maroon as main color for hand, with white. Blue flowers and accents in place of yellow. I have shared on Instagram and in the Ravelry TWT forum as was suggested. Yes, there are prizes to be given and lots of interesting patterns being knit. I’ve already found one to save for later.
Milet pattern on my iPad with my work in comparison
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
New England's Narrow Road 