Focussed ...

Over christmas I usually have a lot of spare time to try out some new stuff. This year I thought it'd be interesting to knit a pair of mitts starting from one focussing point around the edge of the hand ... a bit like Circle Mitts - just starting at the opposite side.

Here's the first one I came up with. However, I didn't like the finishing, i.e. the upper edge and the shape of the thumb.

That's why I started anew - this time with a better idea on how to knit the upper edge and the thumb. I also tried to make them a bit asymmetrical, i.e. placing the starting point a bit more on the back of the hand.

I like this version better, but I guess I'll need to knit another pair (in a nice yarn) to be able to write up a pattern and to get decent pictures.

Double Helix Mitts

After finishing the Helix Mitts, I played bit further with the idea ... and came up with mitts formed of two strips winding up the hands ...

When knitting these, you take turns in knitting with color A and with color B - that's why you need three needles to knit them. As with the Helix Mitts, the strips are joined as you knit, so no sewing is required.

For most female hands, you need less than 15 grams of fingering weight yarn for each color (i.e. a total of 30 grams) – therefore it’s a great pattern to use up leftovers of nice sock yarn. I used some leftover Lang Sansibar contrasted with some beige Alpaca yarn.

Materials

• a total of about 30 grams of sport weight yarn (5-ply) in two colors
• three knitting needles (3mm) - I used short dpns
• about 14 removable stitch markers or safety pins

This work by Knitting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Abbreviations and Special Techniques

• Joining to rows at the edges: There are various ways to connect the last stitch of one ridge to the first stitch of another. I used the following ones:
  For the first mitt, I'd knit to the last stitch of the RS row slip it knitwise, pick up the front leg of the edge stitch, then insert the left hand needle as for a slip-slip knit and knit the two loops together. On the back row I'd slip the first stitch and knit to the end.
  Since the mitts are mirror inverted, they coil in the opposite direction. This meant that I had to do the join from the WS, like that. I'd knit to the last stitch and slip it as if to purl through the back loop (ptbl) with yarn in front, turn your work; pick up a leg of the edge stitch you want to join to and do a k2tog of this and the stitch you just turned.
  However, there are other methods to join rows at the edges, one method is shown here: http://youtu.be/3zPXZ4cu66Q . Please note that whatever you do, please stay consistent throughout one mitt.
• German short rows: when you turn, bring yarn to the front and pull it back so that a sort of double-stitch is created, then knit back as usual - when you have to knit the double-stitch, be careful to knit it as one stitch (see also http://youtu.be/PsBkXPmjgaE); this method has the advantage the no picking up of stitches is necessary. In the pattern, this stitch will be called t+p (turn and pull).

"Gauge" – or what you should check beforehand
Measure the circumference of your wrists – loosely. If 36 rows (i.e. 18 garter stitch ridges) measure more than half of this circumference – the mitts will be too wide for you.
If – as me – you don’t like to knit a swatch, you can alternatively knit the first piece (i.e. the beginning of Round 1 – Color A) to check if it fits.

Instructions

The instructions are given in rounds or levels, i.e. layers of garter strip stitches – one layer per color. Ends of levels, i.e. the last rows of each round, are marked with stitch markers or safety pins.

First Mitt

Level 1 – Color A:
CO2
R0: k2
R1: k1 mk1 k1
R2 – R6: sl1, k to end
R7: sl1, kfb, k to end
R8 – R12: sl, k to end
Repeat R7 to R12 four more times, you should have 8 stitches on your needle. The piece should look like a triangle.

If the piece is shorter than half of the
circumference of your wrists, go on with R11 and R12 until you have reached the desired length (i.e. half the circumference of your wrist).
Mark the last row (this marker will be called: Level-1-A-Marker - see picture on the right to see how the markers are placed)

Level 1 – Color B:
With yarn B and a new needle (and as yet complete unattached to the piece you just knitted)
Knit the same piece in color B.
Mark the last row (this marker will be called: Level-1-B-Marker)

Level 2 – Color A:
Now the last stitch of a color A row is connected to the first stich of a color B row.
Standard Row 1 (SR1): sl1, k to last stitch, slip last stitch knitwise, pick up edge stitch, insert left-hand needle into both stitches and knit like an ssk.
Standard Row 2 (SR2): sl1, k to end
Repeat these standard rows at least 5 times.

Level 2 – Color B:
Fold the connected strip backwards (see illustration no. 1) so that you can connect the next row of the color B-triangle to the first row of the color A-triangle.
Standard Row 1 (SR1): sl1, k to last stitch, slip last stitch knitwise, pick up edge stitch, insert left-hand needle into both stitches and knit like an ssk.
Standard Row 2 (SR2): sl1, k to end
Repeat these standard rows at least 5 times.

Illustrations 1, 2, 3 and 4

Now finish round 2 in colors A and B – taking turns to knit. (You don't have to finish a layer of one color before switching to the other one. You can switch anytime inbetween as long as you use the markers.)
When you connect a row to a row with a marker, mark this row (the markers will be called Level-2-A-Marker and Level-2-B-Marker respectively)

Level 3 – Color A
Continue knitting SR1 and SR2 – when you reach the row marked with Level-2-B-Marker, place a marker (this will be called Level-3-A-Marker)

Level 3 – Color B
Continue knitting SR1 and SR2 – when you reach the row marked with Level-2-A-Marker, place a marker (this will be called Level-3-B-Marker)

Level 4 – Color A
The following short row sequence serves to wide the mitts and to create a thumb gusset. (One garter stitch ridge equals two rows).
Ridge 1 = SR1, SR2
Ridge 2: sl1, k6, t+p, k to end
Ridge 3 = SR1, SR2
Ridge 4 = SR1, SR2

Ridge 5: sl1, k5, t+p, k to end

Ridge 6 = SR1, SR2
Ridge 7 = SR1, SR2

Ridge 8: sl1, k6, t+p, k to end
Ridge 9 = SR1, SR2
Ridge 10 = SR1, SR2

Place a marker (this will be called Thumb-End-Marker-A)

Continue knitting SR1 and SR2 – when you reach the row marked with Level-3-B-Marker, place a marker (this will be called Level-4-A-Marker)

Level 4 – Color B
Continue knitting SR1 and SR2 – when you reach the row marked with Level-3-A-Marker, place a marker (this will be called Level-4-B-Marker)

Level 5 – Color A
Continue knitting SR1 and SR2 – when you reach the row marked with Level-4-B-Marker, place a marker (this will be called Level-5-A-Marker)

Level 5 – Color B
Now the thumb gusset will be widened a bit more with some short rows.
Ridge 1 = SR1, SR2
Ridge 2 = SR1, SR2

Ridge 3: sl1, k6, t+p, k to end

Ridge 4 = SR1, SR2
Ridge 5 = SR1, SR2
Ridge 6: sl1, k5, t+p, k to end
Ridge 7 = SR1, SR2
Ridge 8 = SR1, SR2
Ridge 9: sl1, k5, t+p, k to end
Ridge 10 = SR1, SR2
Ridge 11 = SR1, SR2
Ridge 12: sl1, k6, t+p, k to end
Ridge 13 = SR1, SR2
Ridge 14 = SR1, SR2

Place a marker (this will be called Thumb-End-Marker-B) - illustration no. 3 shows how the piece should look now.
Continue knitting SR1 and SR2 – when you reach the row marked with Level-4-A-Marker, place a marker (this will be called Level-5-B-Marker)

Level 6 – Color A
R1: sl1, k to end (do NOT attach the last stitch to the level below)
R2: sl1, k to end
Repeat R1 and R2 five more times.
Try it on and see if the unattached strip fits over your thumb to reach Thumb-End-Marker-B (see illustration no. 4). If it’s too short repeat R1 and R2 once more.
Knit SR1, but attach the last stitch to the first stitch of the row marked with Thumb-End-Marker-B.
Knit SR2.
Continue knitting SR1 and SR2 – when you reach the row marked with Level-5-B-Marker, place a marker (this will be called Level-6-A-Marker)

Level 6 – Color B
Continue knitting SR1 and SR2 – when you reach the row marked with Level-5-A-Marker, place a marker (this will be called Level-6-B-Marker)

Level 7 – Colors A and B
R1 = SR1
R2 = SR2
R3 = SR1
R4: sl1, k2tog, k to end
R5 = SR1
R6 = SR2
Repeat R1 to R6 until there are 3 sts left.

R7 = SR1
R8 = SR2
R9 = SR1
R10: sl1, k2tog, k to end
R11: SR1
R12: ssk, cut yarn and draw through loop


2nd Mitt

There are two differences that make the mitts mirror-images of one another:
a) the knitted strip is folded differently when first connecting the rows
b) the connection is done differently (i.e. standard rows 1 and 2 are different, as described below).

Knit level 1 (colors A and B) as for 1st mitt.

Level 2 - Color A
Now the last stitch of a color A row is connected to the first stich of a color B row.
Standard Row 1 (SR1): sl1, k to last stitch, slip last stitch wyif as if to do a ptbl
Standard Row 2 (SR2): pick up edge stitch, k2tog (i.e. the last stitch of the last row and the picked up stitch), k to end
Repeat these standard rows at least 5 times.

Level 2 – Color B
Fold the connected strip forwards (i.e. in the opposite direction as for the first mitt, see illustration no. 2) so that you can connect the next row of the color B-triangle to the first row of the color A-triangle.
Standard Row 1 (SR1): sl1, k to last stitch, slip last stitch knitwise, pick up edge stitch, insert left-hand needle into both stitches and knit like an ssk.
Standard Row 2 (SR2): sl1, k to end
Repeat these standard rows at least 5 times.

Now finish round 2 in colors A and B – taking turns to knit.
When you connect a row to a row with a marker, mark this row (the markers will be called Level-2-A-Marker and Level-2-B-Marker respectively)

Knit levels 3 to 6 (in both colors) as for 1st mitt.

Level 7 – Colors A and B
R1 = SR1
R2 = SR2
R3 = SR1
R4: pick up edge stitch, k2tog (i.e. the last stitch of the last row and the picked up stitch), k2tog, k to end
R5 = SR1
R6 = SR2
Repeat R1 to R6 until there are 3 sts left.

R7 = SR1
R8 = SR2
R9 = SR1
R10: pick up edge stitch, k2tog (i.e. the last stitch of the last row and the picked up stitch), k2tog, k to end
R11: sl1, sl1 as if to ptbl
R12: pick up edge stitch, k2tog (i.e. the last stitch of the last row and the picked up stitch), cut yarn and draw through loop

Before you weave in the ends, turn the mitts inside out and decide which side you like best. The picture on the right shows the difference - one knit has been turned inside out and you can see that the connection looks different. After you have decided, weave in ends.