How to go from fingerless mitts to the Mitten Top, flip top mitten! P.S. it’s easier than it may look. I love designs that look ultra fancy yet are simple and relaxing to create.
Step 1 – Pick the right placement
The perfect placement is totally up to you. I like to position my mitten top to fold back between the bend of the hand and the bend of the fingers.
I have rather short fingers… not great for piano playing but awesome for knitting! For lucky folks with longer fingers, they may like it a bit higher up.
Don’t stress it too much about it, it’s mostly important to find the same row on both mitts for a perfect pair.
Step 2 – Mark the ends of the row
Use a tapestry needle, a double point, a stitch marker… whatever you have handy… and mark each end of the row you chose. It’s much easier to keep track and not drift up or down a row when you’ve marked your beginning and end points.
Step 3 – Cast On
Use the Long Tail method to cast on the number of stitches required for the outside of the mitten top. These stitches just hang out on the needle while you continue to the fun part…
Step 4 – Pick Up and Knit
Quick Note: A stitch looks like this \/, not like this /\ – it’s the V’s, not the mountains. 🙂
Pull the stitch side to side and find the bar between them. This is where to pick up and knit!
Insert the needle under the bar, pointed bottom to top, wrap with your yarn and continue as a normal knit stitch. Repeat this with the next stitch (moving to the left like you’d normally work across), making sure to use the bar between the V’s!
Now Join to work in the Round
This part might feel a bit fiddly, but after the first round or two, it becomes much more comfortable.
Tip: Using a table (of flat surface) makes it easier to manage the first round.
Hmm… what if you’re not happy with how it’s turning out
The first time I tried this pick up and knit technique, I thought I had ruined my beautiful mitts. I was so careful, but it was sloppy and not quite right. Remember friends, knitting is supposed to be fun. So don’t panic, no tears of frustration. Just do this…
Pull the needle and new yarn out. Take a moment to look at how utterly ruined your neat stockinette stitches look. Then tug on the whole mitt top and bottom edges. Voila! It totally fixes all the weird bumps and stretched out stitches. Your pretty mitts will look like nothing happened at all and you can give it another go.
Oooo that YARN & Ohhh those MITTS
Yarn shown (yeah, it’s pretty great isn’t it?!) – Must Stash Yarn – EveryDay DK – A Very Hobbit Christmas
Pattern – Mitten Top – Available at Ravelry and LoveCrafts
Needles – ChiaoGoo Red Lace – I got this pair from Smartisans
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