Practice Ribbing with this Hat and Mitt Set

I love a pattern with thoughtful shaping. Lots of times I think we try to hide the increases and decreases in a pattern, but sometimes that’s not possible and sometimes it’s great to make those increases and decreases a feature of the design.

A great example of this is Svetlana Volkova’s knitpurl mitts pattern. The gusset increases of this pair of ribbed mitts are just beautiful. I also like that they made them extra long so they’re almost mittens just without the shaping at the end (which you could totally add if you’re into that).

The pattern is worked in one piece from the bottom up and is available in five sizes based on the width of the hand (it’s meant to fit teens and adults). It uses DK weight yarn, and while it’s great in a solid color, there are some fun projects on the pattern’s Ravelry page showing it with stripes and color blocking that’s really nice, too.

And if that’s not enough for you there’s also a coordinating pattern for a hat. The knitpurl beanie is also a ribbed pattern worked in DK weight yarn with a classic beanie style, and it has pretty great shaping at the top, too. The four-point decrease really accentuates the shaping and gives it a nice fit.

This one is also worked from the bottom up and it’s designed to have a wide fold over brim, but you can make it shorter (or even longer!) if you like. It has four size options from 17 to 23 inches (that’s 43 to 59 centimeters) so it should fit a range of older kids, teens and adults as well.

This pattern is also available on Ravelry. You can make yours a matching set or use whatever yarn you have on hand to add stripes or make projects that coordinate but don’t exactly match. Totally up to you!

[Photo: Svetlana Volkova]

Have You Tried This? Ribbing with No Purling

Make Your Mittens with Colorwork

Next Pattern:

Linen stitch is one of my favorite knitting stitch patterns that, every time I use it in a project, I think about how I don’t use it often enough.

It’s an easy stitch to make, with slip stitches done with the yarn held to the front of the work on the right/front side and to the back on the wrong/back side, which makes the strand of yarn a visible part of the pattern.

It also makes a fabric that is thick and looks kind of like a woven fabric.

I recently used linen stitch to make a double-thick pot holder, which I worked in a kind of interesting way. I didn’t want to have to do any sewing on the project, so I started it from a crochet cast on and picked up stitches from the side of the cast on to make the hot pad all in one piece in the round with the edge sealed.

This requires working on two circular needles, which is another technique I don’t use that often and am always reminded how much I like it when I do.

The combination of double thickness and the stitch pattern makes for a hot pad that’s already pretty thick, but I also added a bit of old towel to the inside before I closed up the end to make it super thick and extra protective for your surfaces.

I found the engineering challenge of this construction method to be a lot of fun, but you could also just knit it as a tube (casting on twice as many stitches as I did) and sew up the ends by hand when the knitting is done. Either way you’ve got a useful and pretty addition to your kitchen, whether you work it in a solid color, stripes or as a stash busting project will all your cotton odd balls.

You can grab the pattern over at Our Daily Craft, or check it out on Ravelry.

40+ Hot Pads You Can Sew For The Kitchen [Sewing]

A Cozy Knit to Calm Your Mind

Double Knit an Infinity Scarf

Next Pattern:

Have you read?