我完成了兩雙手套！
第一雙是可以換成無指手套
比較方便滑手機
用一用覺得大拇指接觸的位置會讓手套的上半部往外面卷
我覺得很討厭 所以決定要做一個手套接觸的位置在手掌

第二雙手套原來也想做可以換成無指手套
但是因為選了一個比較難的織圖所以不敢亂改
我覺得成品非常好看！
下次再做手套的話 我覺得只要大拇指可以打開就好了
反正想要滑手機的時候只要有大拇指就可以了！

I’ve been wanting to knit myself a pair of mittens for a while now. It gets really cold in Pittsburgh and especially this year with all the COVID handwashing, my hands have been extra dry and peely. I hear people talk about eczema all the time and I’m not entirely sure what it is, but my hands are also crackly and peeling and a new level, leading me to believe that maybe I have finally developed eczema after 10+ years living in the cold weather. Maybe?

Anyway, onto the actual mittens. I ended up making two pairs of mittens. I don’t love the first pair but they work; the second pair is beautiful and I can’t wait to wear them! Here goes the tale of the two mitts.

Convertible Mitts

I wanted some convertible mittens and there are a lot of convertible mittens patterns on Ravelry so I picked one that was 1. free and 2. didn’t have terrible reviews. The pattern originally has fingerless gloves under the mitten cap. I didn’t want my fingers separated for warmth-keeping-purposes so I just didn’t knit individual fingers. I skipped the increases and just did some ribbing that ended just past my pinky. I also used the Tin Can Knits Mitts pattern to close the thumb because the Urban Necessity mitts instructiosn didn’t work out for me.

I used leftover Berroco Vintage from the Throwback Sweater I knit for my mom. The color of the finished mitts are just gorgeous. I’m obsessed with the color!

I finished these mitts super fast because I desperately needed mitts to wear to go outside. During my 10-day semi-quarantine after I returned from Taiwan, I worked on these mitts pretty exclusively.

Let’s talk about the results. I honestly don’t love these mitts. Because I removed the individual finger separations, the mitts twist when I’m wearing them. The mitts are knit with the thumb flat, which means that when I try to use my opposable thumbs, it twists the entire mittens. I don’t know if I’m explaining this clearly enough but I’ve basically concluded that this kind of fingerless mitts are no good.

Colorwork Mitts

Armed with this knowledge that these mitts with the thumbs coming off the side suck, I started to look at patterns for a different pair of mitts. Someone in my local yarn group knit a pair of Selbu styled colorwork mitts, which have the thumbs extending from the palm. This seemed like the right thing to do if I was most concerned about the opposibility of the thumbs. Another person from The Crimson Stitchery suggested the Broughton Mitts by Ysolda.

I was really considering the Broughton because of the flip top and also because it’s lined. However, some of the reviews of it were not great and there were a lot of complaints about the sizing. Also, I didn’t really want to buy new yarn. Then I came across the Northman Mittens, which seemed perfect. Worsted weight, and lined! The only downside is that it’s not convertible. Fortunately, in these COVID times, I’m not standing at a bus stop trying to use my phone so it’s ok. The other thing that was exciting about the Northman Mittens was that there was a lot of examples using Lopi and I had some leftover Lopi from my Throwback Sweater!

I had a feeling I wasn’t going to have enough leftover yarn for both pairs of mitts. However, I figured I’d just give it a go and see what happens. I ran out of the white yarn while working on mitt 2. Fortunately, a fellow Pittsburgh knitter graciously offered me some white Lopi to complete my project. But then I ran out of gray Lopi too. I felt so embarrassed by my own miscalculation and didn’t want to ask for gray yarn as well so I ended up ordering a single skein of Lopi and paying for shipping, which was as much as the Lopi.

Anyway, I spent an extra $10 or so on yarn (+shipping) for these mitts. It was kinda annoying but at the end of the day, these are so REALLY CUTE MITTS. Of course, I finished them just in time for spring, but I’m excited to wear them next winter!

Oh! One last thing — these mitts are supposed to be lined. However, for the smallest size, I knit the mitts on a size 2 needle (instead of size 3) because I don’t own size 3 needles. They are a bit snug so I don’t think I’ll be able to add a lining. Oh well! I’m sure the Lopi mitts will be warm enough as is.