Tag: thrummed

Knitting Thrummed Mittens With Bulky Yarn

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

Roving in yellow to do thrummed mittens

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.

Knitting thrummed mittens
Knitting mittens with Alafosslopi yarn and roving

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.

Wording on my thrummed mittens
Inside mitten

Will add photos when I get these mittens finished!

Mitten Knitting and Reviews

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Planning to Knit – Mitten Patterns With Thrums

It is not a misprint – all mittens have thumbs, but not all mittens have thrums!

What is a Thrum?

Before fiber becomes yarn as we know it, it needs to be spun. The puffy fiber which is used to spin the yarn is called roving, or a carded top. (To get the roving to that point requires other processes as well.) To make thrums, that fluffy roving is knit, piece by piece, into a mitten. Knit a simple pattern, and add the roving – here and there – to create fluff inside the mitten. Each bit of fluff is called a thrum. Hence, when you do this you have thrummed mittens.

My roving
Roving in yellow to do thrummed mittens
Inside the mitten
This is 4 oz. of roving! It’s a lot.

Yarn spinners buy roving to spin (and sometimes dye, if it’s natural) to create their own unique hand-spun yarn. What I call roving, is also sometimes called a top. I’m unfamiliar with it really, but just wanted some fluffy stuff to add to my mittens!

Thrummed mittens are perfect for those who live in cold weather climates. The Well Sweep Sheep shop at Etsy has handmade thrummed mittens for sale. Take a look at the photos if you are not familiar with the look of thrummed mittens.

For a good result, most knitting projects take some planning. When I first saw mittens knit with thrums, I wanted to know more. I can’t believe I have never heard of this until recently. Now, I will plan and knit mittens with thrums – for the first time.

A Little About Mitten Thumbs – Two Ways to Knit

Be aware that mittens can have either “side gore” or “peasant / afterthought” thumbs. I’ve only knit mittens with the side gore directions, which makes them interchangeable – no right and left. The thumb area begins to expand shortly after the cuff is knit by making increases. Once part of the thumb is knit, those stitches are put on hold to finish after the hand.

All mitts and mittens I have knit have a side gore thumb. These are not Thrummed.

fingerless mitt colorwork Fair-isle
Stellar Parallax Mitts
fiddlehead mitten
Fiddlehead
knitting colorwork Milet mitten pattern
Milet
thumb knitting for mitten
Glissade
Clacks mittens in Lettlopi wool
Clacks
thumb on hold
Worlds Simplest Mittens

An afterthought thumb is added by leaving an opening in the hand where the thumb will be added later. The thumb is placed more toward the palm, which means each mitten knit will be for either the right or left hand and are NOT interchangeable. Read this article at Just Crafty Enough to see the difference.

Free Patterns for Mittens With Thrums

When searching for mitten patterns with thrums, free patterns and patterns to purchase are available. While most people love free things, we must take into consideration how well a free pattern works. Some free patterns are great, but others don’t work out.

Since I have knit quite a few mittens, I’m really only looking for cast on number, and thrumming information. I can’t see paying for that. YouTube and knitting websites all have information about how to thrum. Basically, I need a knitting pattern in worsted or chunky / bulky yarn where I can add thrums.

Here is a list of free patterns I would like to suggest. I have not knit any of these myself. The patterns are listed at Ravelry and get good reviews and ratings.

  • How to Make Thrummed Mittens – (Worsted) Advice and Free pattern with side gore thumb! Source: Haveayarn.ca
  • Chroma Thrummed Mitts – (Bulky) I printed this free pattern out and it has an “afterthought” or “peasant” thumb. This is something I am not thrilled about as I’ve never knit that type of thumb. But, the pattern has nice directions and advice on thrumming.
  • Worlds Simplest Mittens – not a thrumming pattern, but Tin Can Knits has offered this free pattern to knit mittens in 4 different weights of yarn, including worsted and chunky. Also a toddler size is included. I’m thinking I’ll watch a thrumming video, and add thrums to any of these mittens. Should work, right? Thumb type is side gore style.

Pay For Thrummed Mittens Patterns

Although free thrummed mitten patterns may be fine for anyone who can basically knit a mitten, some people will want more help. There is nothing wrong with supporting designers by buying their patterns.

Roving

One question I had was about the roving. I know nothing about it really, but I assume a nice wool of some sort would make those thrums nice.

I couldn’t find much info about this. At Three Waters Farm on Etsy, I see nice roving made from all sorts of fleece, including BFL, Merino, Merino and silk, Falkland wool, Romney, Corriedale, Targhee, Polwarth, and … yikes! Now I am more confused. I do know that you want wool, which will felt after washing. So do not use Superwash! This way the thrums will mesh together to create a nice soft layer inside the mittens…. right?

I am making mittens that I want to be very warm. Wool is my first choice so I don’t think I could go wrong with any of the wools listed, as long as they are not superwash. Bits of the roving will be pulled from the braid to match up with the yarn I use.

I ended up buying my roving from Paradise Fibers. I bought a merino and silk blend mainly for the color – I love the swirls of gold and pale green. Etsy shops also sell roving, and so do many yarn shops.

The roving I bought

Bulky Yarn Ideas for Quick Mitten Knitting

Roving is puffy, so a worsted, chunky or bulky weight yarn would be nice for a first thrummed mitten project. Apparently you simply make smaller thrums if the yarn is lighter weight.

Here are some bulky yarn suggestions for knitting thrummed mittens.

Prices listed here are current to the writing of this post (Jan. 2022) and obviously may change.

  • Wool of the Andes, Bulky – Knit Picks, $6.99 for 137 yds. per skein
  • The Petite Wool, Bulky- We Are Knitters, $14.90 – $19.90 for 142 yds. (+/-) per skein
  • Alafosslopi – Bulky – Istex Icelandic wool – buy direct from Iceland for about $6.29 per skein, or find it available in many US locations, usually for $10 each skein (109 yds). (I’m using this type of yarn for my thrummed mittens.)

Read about knitting my first pair of thrummed mittens on a post soon to come.