Angora Lined Mittens

It's plain looking, which is what Dad will like about it, but I'm happy that it works exactly how I thought it would in my head. As a bonus, it feels even better than I imagined. Now I want to make myself a pair of wool mittens lined with angora, it feels so cushiony and WARM and soft.

This looks like a practical joke here, mittens with no hole for the hand

I don't have a pattern written down, but this is what I did: provisional cast on with the wool, knit 1 round plain, knit 2 rounds of K1P1, purl 1 round (turning round), work 3 inches of K1P1 for the cuff, and then blahblahblah knit a mitten. Weave in all ends and trim them now, it's easier than waiting until the liner is almost done. Note: When the liner is closed up you can't reach the inside of the wool mitten to weave/trim the ends. Release the cast on sts from the scrap yarn and knit a second mitten (the liner) with the angora yarn. The thumb will be on the same side but make a left thumb for the right mitten's liner and vice versa (so when the liner is turned inside-out stuffed up in the mitten the gussets will line up). If your favorite thumbs are not hand specific then this isn't an issue. When the liner is done push it inside the mitten. There are some concerns in there about working with different yarns and maybe different gauges and the outside mitten should be big enough to accomidate the liner. Measuring the swatch around my hand revealed I needed 1/2 inch ease for the liner so I went with 9" for the mitten and 8.5" for the liner to fit an 8.5" hand. I guessed at his hand size, hope it fits.

Attention thrifty knitters on a budget: I unravelled the sleeve of a 99 cent thrift store sweater for the angora yarn, making this a very cheap project. They originally priced the sweater much higher but it was ugly so I found it on a 99 cent Monday. (At that point it'd been in the store for 4-5 weeks, nobody else wanted it.) The yarn is lovely but the sweater had a few dozen tiny satin rosettes and faux pearls sewn all over the front. Ew. It was in brand-new condition so I suspect it was a gift and the unfortunate recipient was unable to return it.

I'm off to the Kitsap Peninsula for my Dad's 60th birthday where I'll see my younger brother and his wife for the first time in 2.5 years. They recently moved to Chicago (from Florida) and you know what that means... more handknits!