Friday, December 09, 2005

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!

6 comments:

Maus said...

That mitten is gorgeous and thanks for posting how you did it. I am sure your dad will cherish them. What a grand idea to unravel a thrift store item, I would have never thought of that. Will now have a different "look" at the knitware garmets there when I go.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the lined mitten *recipe.* I want to knit some mittens this winter for the Dulaan project but I wanted them to be lined since in my experience (living in MN and WI all my life) single-layer mittens aren't really worth a rip once the temp gets below 0 F. And I didn't quite know to do it. Now I have confidence -- I've used a similar technique to make extra-warm hats. Thanks!

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Unknown said...

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Unknown said...

I've been making these mittens for a few years now. I live in Maine where it is COLD, COLD, COLD. I have a small homesteading farm so I have animals to care for. I can honestly say that I have NEVER had my hands get cold in these mittens!! I am a spinner so I began by using my own bunny angora for the inside of the wool mittens. As angora is a really straight fiber and hard to spin it got me thinking of what I could blend it with. Now I am trying angora, merino and alpaca blended together for the inside. All three are notoriously warm fibers. I do my linings a little differently...when the mitten is done I pick up stitches on the inside where the cuff ends and begin knitting the lining from there. So the cuff isn't lined but I have found it less bulky under my sleeves which keep my wrists warm anyhow. I absolutely love these mittens and always have a pair in the making.
I love your great find of angora! I will be on the watch for that, too!