I knit my son a pair of mittens (he’s 17months) and despite being wool they just are not warm. I bought him a pair of double “walled” fleece ones and they are not warm at all. Is it possible to double knit a pair or make a pair and put a fleece liner in? I just finished a felted pair for myself and may try to find a child’s felted pattern, but wonder if they will be too stiff for him and mine are only marginaly warm. Thoughts?
Anyone double knit mittens?
I was thinking you could probably do this simple just by knitting two like you make reversible hats and I searched double knit mittens on Rav and saw some!
These aren’t free, but they can’t be that hard…just awkward. I’d think you could cast on with waste yarn and then knit one, then remove the waste yarn and pick up the stitches, and make another.
These are actually double knit for women, but maybe you could translate for your baby.
When my children were growing up I made their mittens with one strand of worsted weight and one strand of fingering/sock weight.
Last year for one of my grown daughters I made wool mittens and just inserted a pair of inexpensive ready-made knit gloves into the mittens. I didn’t have to attach the glove to the mitten as it just stayed put.
For a little one I’d look for a pair of soft ready-made mittens and put that inside the mittens you made.
I’ve yet to try knitting mittens adding roving, but that’s on my bucket list. I’ve heard these mittens are extra warm.
Judy
I had another thought… thrummed mittens!
Hi, VAKnitter:
I do not have a double knit pattern to suggest; however, have you thought about Lovikka mittens (Swedish mittens). They are felted and then brushed to make them more flexible. Just so you know I have never made a pair of these mittens.
Here are some links that might be of interest:
http://www.isbona.com/newsletter/swedishmittens.pdf
http://www.cs.oswego.edu/~ebozak/knit/esb-patterns/lovikka-set.html
The thrummed mittens suggested by Jan are also a good idea (just be careful little fingers do not get snagged in the loose wool). I hope the links are useful (if not interesting).
~Katrina
I have made a pair of mittens entirely done in Swedish twined knitting (Tvaandsstickning) from a pattern I got from Taos yarn, although I used a different worsted wt. yarn. They are very warm. Also I have a book called Folk Mittens by Marcia Lewandowski that has some patterns that may help you. One is for Minnesota mittens with part of it done in the twined knitting. Another one is for lined mittens, with the outside mitten in worsted and inner in sport wt. Hope this helps you.:knitting:
When it gets really cold out, I wear a pair of those thin small gloves they call magic gloves under my hand knit mittens. It’s just enough to keep you toasty warm. Another thing I like to do is make thermal stitch mittens. I’m working on a pair now. You can use the pattern you have now but cast on to the nearest multiple of four. The pattern itself is very easy. Knit one row, purl one row. K2,p2 rib across for two rows. If you’re knitting these in the round, you will knit two rows instead of the knit one row purl one row for straight knitting. Repeat these four rows. This makes warm air pockets that are similar to the waffle knit on long underwear. It’s also great for hats and scarves.
Another thought I had is, what size needle are you using to knit these? I’ve knit mittens with sizes 7 to 10 1/2 with either worsted weight or superbulky acrylic and wool yarn. The project went fast, but they weren’t as tightly knit and warm as the ones I knit with my size 4 and 5’s. Size 0 to 3 would probably be even warmer. I don’t have the patience to go that small and my interchangeable set starts at 4.
Acrylics and wool blends with acrylics aren’t as warm as 100% wool. I was disappointed with my last pair of mittens with superbulky Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride wool blend. I think it’s mixed with mohair. The mittens haven’t been that warm in the biting Wisconsin cold winds we’ve been having lately. And it’s not even bitter cold yet. Read the labels and buy pure wool if you’re concerned about outdoor wear. One I’ve had good luck with is Cascade 220 100% Peruvian Highland wool. Knitpicks has a cheaper version of this that I think is identical, Wool of the Andes. I just received a sampler pack of this and am very pleased with it.
Okay, one more post and then I’ll have to give this one a rest. I live in the Frozen Tundra. We get temps down to 40 below zero in January. Even if it’s knit in a bulky weight yarn, a single pair of mittens is not going to protect you from the cold. It’s the biting winds that are the problem. Here in Wisconsin, we layer clothing. Depending on the temps, I might wear a short or long sleeved shirt with a sweatshirt over it. A sweater would be too warm. Sweat shirts are part cotton so they breathe and wick up sweat. I can pull the hood up over my hat and scarf for protection from the wind. We will wear these even under a goose down or snowmobile jacket. The jackets are just not warm enough by themselves. I think you’ll have to do the same with the mittens, regardless of what yarn you make them with. I’ve noticed the temps are really dipping and the winds biting lately, so it’s not just you and your technique.
Yes, layering is the key. I have different gloves, mittens, etc. for different conditions and activities. The gloves I wore in the midwest are like spring gloves here in Alaska. What I wear to drive to the store is not what I would wear outside for any length of time to shovel snow or anything else. A pair of leather chopper mitts with wool liners I would wear there would not do it for dog mushing up here. For that I wore a large pair of guantlet mits with insulation rated to -70 over wool mitts and a light pair of gloves inside.
I just designed this mitten pattern, that is made in the round, knitting one mitten, and it turns into 2 mittens one inside the other
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Lori1551/reversible-double-mittens-for-the-whole-family
I’m not sure if you would be interested in this link or not, but, I have just written a pattern to knit Double Reversible mittens at one time. You do not have to knit 4 mitts and insert one into the other and attach at the cuff. These are made as one, then turns into 2 mitts, one inside the other when completed.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/reversible-double-mittens-for-the-whole-family