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Knitting for the Fair: Hearts and Dalas Mittens

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heart dala mittensEver since I got out of 4-H nearly 20 years ago I have wanted to start making things for the fair again. I know a lot of adults who do it, and they make some beautiful things, and while being judged isn’t the greatest thing ever, it is fun to win ribbons for things you made.

Kat at Just Crafty Enough knit a fabulous pair of mittens to enter into the state fair where she lives, and she’s published the pattern for anyone who wants to try them. They’re worked in lace weight yarn, have colorwork everywhere, and are worked with size 000 needles (0000 on the cuffs!) to a gauge of 15 stitches per inch. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

But they are spectacular and I certainly hope she gets a ribbon.

Do you knit or do other crafts to enter in the fair? I’d love to hear what you’re doing this year.

[Photo via Just Crafty Enough.]

Jorid Linvik’s Big Book of Knitted Mittens: 45 Distinctive Scandinavian Designs is sure to inspire you to want to knit some fun mittens, whether embellished with classic motifs like birds, hearts, moose and classic colorwork designs or those with a more modern feel liks guitars and skulls, a giraffe, penguins or a turquoise lizard.

The book includes a lot of instructions on how to make your mittens come out right, including a discussion of how different gauges can give you different sizes of mittens (and which mittens can be worked to different sizes for kids and adults). The charts are a little different from others you might have seen in that they show how to divide the stitches on the needles and where to place the thumb.

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

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Comments

  1. I’ve been a needlework judge for our local fair for more than a decade and have never seen anything as intricate as this entered. It would be awesome if there were projects of this caliber at my fair.

  2. I was in 4-H and my kids were also said n 4-H. We all had our different projects to enter and what fun when judging day arrived…couldn’t wait to see what color ribbon we got. My mom was a stickler for perfection and neatness. At the time I didn’t realize how important it was but now I am so glad she taught me that because without it I wouldn’t understand fair quality. I’m in my 60’s now (though I feel much younger.) I still enter projects into the county fair and every chance I get I encourage people to be creative and enter as the excitement is so fun. This year I am entering projects in knitting, crochet, cookies, and for the first time I am entering yarn I have spun. My niece, who I introduced to the exhibiting world when she was 10, has admitted that she had so much fun entering an exhitbit that year as to why she has introduced her children to and has continued to be a part of the fair. Each year we are excited to see each other’s projects and what we garnered for a ribbon. It is 2 weeks till fair entry day and I can hardly wait–but I still have the finishing touches to put on many of the projects.

  3. 4-H + adult entries for every craft, food, & animal category are very, very, very low at our county fair for years – ever since they made the decision to only book the fair info & booklets online only. As a fair goer, it’s pitiful when you see every project in the knit, crochet, & sewn categories win a first prize, regardless of highly visible flaws, because those were the only entries. (No, I never enter, because it’s way too much time & effort to keep checking to see if the booklet is online yet, then to scroll thru page after page to find the entry date, entry categories, etc.)

Have you read?

Book Review: No Fear Sock Knitting

I feel like when it comes to things that people are afraid to knit, socks probably top the list. I’ve heard people say they would never knit socks because they look too hard, but really you just need to know a few basic things (and trust the pattern even though it sounds wrong the first time you do it) to master socks. 

Denise DeSantis aims to take the worry out of knitting socks with No Fear Sock Knitting. Based on a class on her YouTube channel, it includes all the basic information you need to make sock knitting feel easier, along with eight patterns for both top down and toe up socks. 

The book generally covers types of needles and yarn you might use to knit socks, as well as other supplies you will need. It looks at the parts of the sock, different knitting needle configurations used to knit socks, how to read a pattern (including abbreviations and terms you might find in sock patterns), discussion of ease, how to measure your foot and choosing the correct size to knit.

It includes two options each for casting on cuff down and toe up socks, as well as four options for cuff treatment. It explores the heel flap and turn method for top down and toe up socks, as well as short row heels using a shadow wrap (worked with a leg from the stitch below) and a square heel. There’s a discussion of avoiding holes and fixing other problems in heels.

Likewise with toes there are several options, including a wedge toe, round toe and anatomical toe (different on each foot) for both cuff down and toe up socks. There are also tutorials for grafting and Jeny’s surprisingly stretchy bind off, depending on which direction you’re going. There’s also a tips section that covers things like avoiding ladders, changing colors. matching stripes and more. 

After all that preparation, there are eight patterns to choose from: short socks worked from the top down that are a perfect first-sock sock, a basic ankle-length toe-up sock, a DK weight sock worked from the top down with different length options, a “vanilla” sock with a short row heel worked top down, an ankle sock with a garter stitch cuff, one with a leg worked in alternating colors with a contrasting heel and toe, a sock worked in a helical stripe pattern and a striped sock with a garter stitch heel. 

Three of the patterns are rated at skill level two on a scale of three, while the rest are level one. They’re all pretty straightforward, they just use different techniques you might not have tried before. Since only one is made to be toe up, there are also tips for converting the other patterns to toe up if you’d rather work that way. Each pattern includes three size options. 

This book is a nice introduction to sock knitting, with lots of techniques to reference and simple patterns to take the fear out of the process. I’m not sure these are patterns you’ll come back to time and again but they are a good place to start if you’ve never knit socks before. 

About the book: 128 pages, paperback, 8 patterns. Published 2025 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $24.99.