Add a Touch of Spring to Your Mittens

I don’t know where you live or what the weather is like right now, but where I am, it is cold and it doesn’t really feel like spring is ever coming.

It might be time to pull out some cheery yarn and knit something that’s warm but still has a bit of a hint of spring to it. Like these Warmth of the Sun Mittens, featured on Interweave’s blog and excerpted from Kate Atherley’s book Knit Mitts.

Colorwork is perfect for mittens because they’re already worked in the round, which makes stranded knitting a bit easier. Plus, the strands make the mittens (which are already warmer than gloves) even warmer because of the extra yarn that’s in there.

I’m a pretty devoted glove knitter and wearer, but these might just change my mind!

[Photo via Interweave.]

Looking for more knitting patterns for Mittens? Check these out on Etsy.

Generally I like knitting patterns where I feel like you can use whatever yarn you have (because my stash is big enough and I want to use it, thanks) and make a successful project. This is one of those times when a special yarn makes the process that much easier.

The Floral Bouquet Shawl from Xandy Peters uses a specific extended color pooling yarn from Feisty Fibers, which allows you to place the bobble flowers with increasing frequency as you knit the project.

It starts with a solid color yarn, then the two color yarn is added in, and you make a bobble whenever you encounter the color pops. This would be hard to replicate with other yarn that doesn’t have the extended color pooling built in.

The background of the shawl is ribbed, making the project reversible.

The shawl uses fingering/sock yarn and comes out to be an asymmetrical triangle that’s 54 inches/137 cm long and 36 inches/ 90 cm deep and 60 inches/150 cm across the top edge.

Xandy says the pattern is for intermediate to advanced knitters. Knowing how to work traditional bobbles would probably help, but there’s a great video tutorial for how to work the floral bobbles so you can practice on other yarn or even incorporate the bobbles into other projects.

The bobbles are five-petaled flowers but they also kind of look like starfish to me, which could be fun on a child’s cardigan or other pattern. They’d also be fun on the leg of a sock or around the brim of a hat for extra whimsy.

The pattern includes photo and video tutorials, and written and charted instructions. It also includes tips on what to look for if you choose to use different yarn for the project, and instructions on how to dye your own yarn to use in the project.

If you want to give it a try, you can find the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Xandy Peters]

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