Download the pattern: Quadruple Cross Mitts

I made the first pair of these mitts in 2009. I came up with a rough sketch, then took notes on the design as I went along. I intended to write up the pattern immediately afterward. A year later, when I still hadn’t written up the pattern, I decided I needed to make another pair to make sure that my notes were correct. I did that, and again, failed to formally write up the pattern. My notes sat in a binder for lo these many years, until I finally decided that I would, once again, knit the mitts as a refresher, then write up the pattern. This time it stuck.

Skills

• Knit and Purl
• K2Tog and SSK
• Circular cast on
• Circular bind off – Since you’ll be binding off individual fingers a “jog” will be quite noticeable. If you are not confident in this skill, I recommend reviewing the TECHKnitting review of circular bind offs.
• Cable 1 left and Cable 1 right – If you don’t know how to cable without an extra needle, this would be a good project for learning. There are many tutorials about cabling without an extra needle, such as this or this.
• M1 with reverse loop
• Picking up stitches

Joining Fingers

The trick with gloves is not to leave holes between the fingers. I’ve tried several strategies to avoid the inter-digital void; the strategy described in this pattern is the one that I find works best. It is repeated several times in the pattern, and in fact, is a significant contributor to the complexity of the description. If you get your head around the finger joins before beginning the pattern, you’ll find that the whole thing becomes much less complex.

The primary point to recognize is that the finger join involves turning one “tube” into two. We’ll call them Tube A and Tube B. Upon separating Tube A from Tube B, you’ll continue knitting Tube A, and set aside Tube B for later. And that brings us to the second point to recognize: that Tube A and Tube B will not be symmetrical. You’ll be adding a few extra stitches between the tubes, but those stitches will be added differently to Tube A than to Tube B (and most of those stitches will disappear shortly after the base of the join).

So here we go… Get your knitting visualization caps on. You’re knitting the main tube of the work, and you are ready to start a finger. You have arranged the stitches so that the stitches for the finger are on three needles, and the remainder of the stitches are on waste yarn. On the third needle of the finger, you’ll cast on two new stitches with reverse loops, and join it to the first needle. This is the beginning of Tube A. On the next round, you’ll knit the two new stitches through the back loop (to tighten them up). On the round after that, at the stitch before the two new stitches you’ll SSK then K2Tog, effectively removing the two new stitches.

Tube B will come from the remaining stitches. Put those stitches on three needles. On one of those needles, you’ll pick up four stitches from the base of Tube A. As with Tube A, you’ll knit one round keeping all stitches. Then on the following round, you’ll SSK the first of the new stitches with the stitch before it, and you’ll K2Tog the last of the new stitches with the stitch after it. Now you have the base of Tube B.

Gauge

These mitts are meant to be knit at a gauge that would, for most garments, be wrong for the yarn. I’d recommend starting with a yarn that recommends size 8 needles for 4 or 5 stitches per inch, and knit a swatch on size 6 needles. You should end up with a gauge around 5.5 stitches per inch (or 22 stitches per four inches). With the 40 stitches in the main part of the pattern, this gauge results in a tube of approximately 7.25 inches in circumference. That fits well — gives the right amount of negative ease — on a hand that is approximately 7.5 inches around (measured at the knuckles, around the base of the fingers).

Download the pattern: Quadruple Cross Mitts

Download the pattern: Faux Cable Hat

The standard technique for moving a column of stitches across a pattern is cabling, in which one or more stitches are passed over one or more other stitches while knitting a row. However, a column of stitches can also be moved across a pattern by balancing increases on one side of the column with decreases on the other side of the column. As an exercise in this technique, I started drawing up a chart with two such columns, criss-crossing is opposite directions.

I ended up with what I call my Faux Cable Hat. It’s a subtle pattern — without the bulk of real, honest-to-goodness cables — that looks best in a single color yarn.

Also, it can be knit with either a foldable brim, or a short, simple brim.

One note about the increases: All increases have either a “left” or “right” lean, specified as M1L and M1R, respectively. M1L is made by lifting the bar between the current two stitches from the front, and knitting through the back loop. M1R is made by lifting the bar between the current two stitches from the back, and knitting through the front loop. Further information about these two techniques can be found at,

http://www.twistcollective.com/collection/component/content/article/92-how-to/1046-make-1-left-or-right-m1-m1l-m1r

I occasionally become bleary-eyed, and forget which type on increase requires lifting the bar from which side. Eventually, I came up with the mnemonic that M1L lifts the bar from the Front, because L and F are similar (both letters are constructed with only horizontal and vertical lines). Likewise, M1R lifts the bar from the Back, because R and B are similar (both letters are constructed with a rounded shapes).

Download the pattern: Faux Cable Hat