The Kitten Catch Mittens are the Cat’s Meow

If you’ve been around Craft Gossip for a while, you probably know that I have a personal preference for cats. It’s not that dogs aren’t nice, I just didn’t grow up with them and have no interest in having one. The largely aloof but sometimes snuggly nature of cats is much more my speed than most of the dogs I’ve known.

I also just think cats as a craft motif are cuter than dogs. I know there are lots of cute dogs out there, but maybe there’s just too much variety in dogs for them to be that useful as a crafty subject. As soon as you make something that looks like one particular breed, all the people with other kinds of dogs want a version that looks like their dog.

On the other hand, cats just look like cats.

Especially when they’re worked in a single color like the kitties on the Kitten Catch Mittens from Florence Miller. I love these mittens because they looks super traditional at first glance. They’re worked in two colors of a classic fingering weight wool for lots of warmth. They have traditional colorwork designs on the palms and the thumb gusset.

And then there are cats and flowers on the backs of the hands. And a little fish on the thumb. How cute is that?

This project is available in one size (women’s medium) and they’re worked from the cuff down. They also feature corrugated ribbing, which is fun.

And because I’m a little slow in sharing these (the pattern came out in September) the project page on Raverly shows literally hundreds of variations, so if brown and white isn’t your thing you can see how the mittens look in different shades of blue, red, black or even white with hot pink.

You can get your copy of this pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Florence Miller]

Make Your Mittens with Colorwork

Sock Yarn Mittens and Mitts Knitting Patterns

As we get into the part of the year with a lot of food-forward holidays, it might be time to start thinking about knitting some new things for your table. While a few of these are more fall/Thanksgiving focused, just changing up the colors would make others work for Christmas, or keep it neutral and use them all year long.

What got me started thinking about this was the lovely and simple Fresh Bread Dishtowel, a free pattern from Purl Soho. Worked in a lovely cotton and linen blend, the towel is mostly stockinette stitch with a bit of texture on the borders.

You could use this same kind of pattern to make anything from placemats to a table runner, but let’s look at some specific patterns for those kinds of projects as well.

The easy moss stitch table runner from Glass Bird Knits is beginner friendly can can easily be modified to fit your table (or, again, to make placemats instead of or in addition to a runner). This version is worked in macrame cord, but you could also use bulky yarn.

Emielle Design has a garter stitch runner pattern that’s made with braided cotton cord for a lot of texture without a lot of work. But be sure to take a lot of breaks when knitting with cord because it can be rough on your hands!

I also love the diamond pattern on the Hamilton Table Runner from Wyndlestraw Designs. It calls for a DK weight cotton and linen blend yarn and comes in three sizes with different widths and lengths. The pattern has both written and charted instructions.

Amy Marie’s Table Pumpkins (on Ravelry) is a fun mosaic knitting pattern that would be great to use as a table runner through the fall and for Thanksgiving. It uses a worsted weight cotton yarn in two colors, and you can make it as long as you like for your table.

The no cable knit placemats from Yarn Culture Studio have a fun faux cable look that would be great for the table through the fall and winter.

Or here’s another pattern from Wyndlestraw Designs, this time for an easy knit and purl stitch placemat pattern that looks different but still good on both sides. It calls for worsted weight cotton and comes in two sizes for placemats, but also has instructions for coasters, a hot pad and a table pad all using the same stitch.

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