Pussywillow Mitts in Knitty, Deep Fall 2013

Earlier this year I got to help out at the Hazel Knits booth at Vogue Knitting Live Seattle.  It was a pretty fantastic experience, and I got the chance to see some new yarns, among them Spincycle Yarns' new mill-spun beauty, Dyed in the Wool.  I'd been telling myself to try some more neutral colors, go with something calm.  (Just scroll through my Ravelry designer page to see my passion for bright, saturated colors.)  But I completely forgot all about that as soon as I saw Pussywillow.

I seriously just forgot.  The color overwhelmed my reasoning brain with how amazing it was.  When I got home and was petting and admiring the skeins, I suddenly remembered my goal of using more neutrals.  But by then I didn't care and I had a plan for my two precious skeins.  

I decided to take advantage of the incredible brightness of the color and make something bike-y with it, something that would be high-vis for safety, but also look good with my fall outfits.

Pussywillow Mitts have just been published in the Deep Fall issue of Knitty (which means they're FREE!)  They're super simple to knit up - the stitch pattern just involves knitting, purling, and a few other simple maneuvers, and the pattern is just four rows long.  The stitch pattern is really stretchy, so there's no shaping necessary.  You can make them as long or short as you want without adjusting the pattern much - just start the thumb hole sooner or later than suggested.  I really want to see a pair of these made up as full-length arm warmers, though of course that would take more yarn.  

They're designed to be worn with negative ease at the hand and forearm - I'm wearing the size Small in the photos - my hand circumference is 7 in/18 cm, my forearm circumference is 8.25 in/21 cm, and my wrist circumference is 5.5 in/14 cm.  The actual circumference of the mitt in that size is 5.5 in/14 cm, so they fit me well at the wrist and stretch comfortably to fit my hand and forearm.  

Spincycle Yarns Dyed in the Wool is listed on Ravelry as a sport weight, but it feels more like a heavy fingering weight to me (the label says, "Sport/Heavy Sock Weight"), so I can see these working really well in that special skein of sock yarn you've got hanging around your stash.  That being said, Dyed in the Wool comes in some pretty incredible colors.  It's Bluefaced Leicester Wool, which is delightfully different from Merino - it's got a dry, wooly hand, but is still really soft and comfortable.  If you've never worked with BFL, you've got to give it a try.

Check out the pattern in the new Knitty and on Ravelry.  

Happy knitting!

Pattern Info:

Finished Measurements

S (M, L)

to fit 7 (8, 9) in/18 (20.5, 23) cm hand circumference

Yarn

Spincycle Yarns Dyed in the Wool (100% wool; 200yd/183m per 75g skein)

Color: Pussywillow; 2 skeins

Gauge 

23 sts/34 rows = 4" in stockinette stitch 

38 sts/28 rows = 4" in textured pattern stitch

Needles & Notions

* Needle Sizes are recommendations only. Always use needle size necessary to obtain gauge. 

US #06/4mm needles for small circumference in the round

tapestry needle

stitch marker

Skills

work in the round, working textured stitch pattern (instructions given)