My name is Kari Hartnett and I am the maker behind Hartknit. I’m so excited to introduce my Winter is Coming Mittens here on The Hook Nook!
I’ve been knitting for as long as I can remember. My grandmother taught me to knit and crochet when I was around 7 or 8 years old. My mom taught me to sew, embroider and cross stitch around that time too. Since then I have never stopped making things, however I was kind of in a slump for most of my adult maker life. I wasn’t inspired to challenge myself to try new things until I started an Instragram account a few years ago dedicated to showing off the knit and crochet items I was working on. I started following a bunch of knit and crochet makers, including Jessica’s Instagram account and it reignited my passion for knitting and crocheting. I have learned SO much and grown exponentially in my abilities over the past few years due to this little community we have. I’m so thankful to have stumbled across all of you inspiring makers! Knitting and crochet has brought so much creativity and joy into my life.
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About a year ago my friend showed me some beautiful fair isle mittens her friend had gifted to her. I was blown away at how great they looked and I didn’t know she had another friend that knew how to knit. I had never tried to make fair isle mittens before and assumed they’d be much too complicated. However, thanks to google and Youtube I felt pretty confident that I’d be able to figure it out. If her friend could make these cute mittens, surely I could too! Right? Right! Letting my competitive side take over I decided it need to find out if I could do it. Turns out they were MUCH easier than I thought they would be. After I made a bunch of cute mittens with one pattern, I bought another pattern and another. My friend asked me if I could make her Ouija mittens. At this time I was already working on creating my own patterns so I figured I could give this a go. She helped me come up with the Ouija planchette design and I started writing the pattern from there. After much trial and error and knitting mittens all summer long I found the perfect formula.
When I found out I was chosen to be a part of the Hook Nook blog I was so excited! I wanted to create a new mitten pattern for the blog. I chose a winter theme that also is a cross over with Game of Thrones. Although I wasn’t the biggest fan of the ending of Game of Thrones (or the entire last season), I loved this show for the most part and I thought this design would be perfect for winter.
Supply List
Yarn: 1 Skein (155 yards) of Fingering Weight Yarn in Red (Main Color, MC) I used Lang Yarns Merino 200 Bébé in red
1 Skein (120 yards) of Fingering Weight Yarn in White (Contrast Color, CC) I used Lange Yarns Merino 200 Bébé in white
Needles: US 1 (2.25mm) circulars 24in for magic loop method or double pointed needles (or any size that achieves the gauge listed in Guidelines)
Stitch holder or waste yarn
Tapestry needle
Blocking Mat
T- Pins or Blocking Pins
Key
BOR – Beginning of round
CC – Contrast color
CO – Cast on
K – Knit
K2tog – Knit two stitches together
MC – Main color
M1 – Make one stitch
M1L – Make one left
P – Purl
SSK – Slip slip knit
Sts - Stitches
Gauge
34 stitches x 32 rows = 4” in knit colorwork
Measurements
8” hand circumference, 11” length
Instructions
Start with MC yarn and CO 58 sts using long tail method.
Place marker at BOR and join to work in the round making sure the CO stitches are flat and not twisted.
Round 1-8 (8 rounds MC): *K2, P2; rep from * to end of round with MC. Note: there will be 4 knit sts in a row. It’s not very noticeable in the rib pattern on the completed mittens.
Round 9-11 (3 rounds CC): Switch to CC, continue K2, P2 rib
Round 12-13 (2 rounds MC): Switch to MC, continue K2, P2 rib
Round 14-16 (3 rounds CC): Switch to CC, continue K2, P2 rib
Round 17 – 24 (8 rounds MC): Switch to MC, continue K2, P2 rib
Round 25: *K29, M1L; rep from * until end. You will now have 60 total stitches.
Now start working the chart. The chart is worked from right to left for both the right and the left mittens. While working the chart M1 where the “M”s are listed.
Chart row 24: Work normally
Chart row 25 Right Mitten: Work first 37 sts up to red line for thumb hole. Place next 13 sts on stitch holder or waste yarn. Using the backwards loop method CO 13 sts in pattern, then continue to work the rest of row 25.
Chart row 25 for Left Mitten: Work first 20 sts up till red line for thumb hole. Place next 13 sts on stitch holder or waste yarn. Using the backwards loop method CO 13 sts in pattern, then continue to work the rest of row 25.
Continue to work chart through all the rows. Decrease near the top to shape the mitten where there is a “D” in the pattern. Decrease by K2tog or SSK depending on what it says above the D in the chart.
When you’ve finished the last row break yarn and pull through remaining stitches with tapestry needle. Pull tight and knot to finish top of mitten. Alternatively, you can turn the mittens inside out and do a three needle bind off if you’d like a flatter edge along the top.
Thumb
Place thumb stitches back onto knitting needles from stitch holder or waste yarn. Pick up and knit 15 sts using MC making sure to include 1 from each side of the thumb hole and 13 from the stitch holder or waste yarn. You should now have 28 stitches on your needles.
Follow the pattern for the thumb chart making sure you match the pattern with the mitten pattern when you first start. Once you finish picking up all 28 sts, place marker at beginning of round.
Follow Chart section making sure to decrease where D is shown in pattern.
When thumb is completed break yarn and pull through remaining stitches with tapestry needle. Pull tight and knot to finish thumb.
Now you are ready to weave in the ends and block.
Great work! Now do it again for the other mitten.
I had so much fun designing this pattern. I hope you love making them! If you’ve never tried to make fair isle mittens before give it a try! There’s so many resources online to help if you get stuck. There’s something so satisfying about tackling and mastering a new skill. Share your Winter is Coming Mittens on Instagram with the hashtag #winteriscomingmittens and feel free to tag me on Instagram so I can see your mittens! If you’d like to see more of my work you can also check out my etsy or find me on Ravelry username Hartknit-.
