It is currently minus 13 degrees Celsius outside, so this caption from the January 1968 issue of Stitchcraft couldn’t have been timlier for this month’s project: cabled mittens (“mitts”) that promised me “Cosy fingers and thumbs”.
The pattern is written for Patons Ariel wool, which was marketed as being very airy (hence the name) and fluffy, so it would knit up quickly and be bulky, but not too heavy. It was made of 80% wool and 20% synthetic fibres. I used lovely Lana Grossa Slow Wool Canapa, bought a while ago from the “sale” bin, as it was sadly being discontinued. It is made of 90% wool and 10% hemp, which gives it tweedy white flecks.
The pattern is written to fit an “average hand” (women’s). I assumed my size 8 hands were larger than that, but also having never worked with Patons Ariel and being too lazy to make a swatch for such a small project, I went ahead and started with the suggested needle sizes and figured I could make any necessary adjustments while knitting.
The pattern is intended to be knitted flat from the wrist ribbing to the fingertips and then seamed up on one side. There is a thumb gusset and you are supposed to knit the thumb (flat) at the point where the thumb starts, then go back and finish the hand, picking up stitches that were cast on on the left or right side of the gusset to shape for the right or left hand. I made everything in the round and finished the hand before knitting the thumb (also in the round.) That made the gloves basically identical, but I found a way to finesse the thumb pick-up stitches to make the thumbs lie slightly differently for the right and left mitten. The pattern itself is four regular 6-stitch cables on a background of reversed stocking-stitch.
They came out very nicely and the fit is perfect for me. The only problem is that I prefer to wear gloves with fingers, or “convertible” gloves with half-fingers and then a mitten top to fold over them. I also don’t have many if any clothes that match the colour (though they do match my hair!) So I don’t know if I will keep them for myself or give them to someone as a gift.
In any case, a success, and finished very quickly. I’m considering making the baby romper from this issue as well, or just using the “extra” time for finally finish my November project… and/or any of the many other winter WIPs. Stay warm!
The Stitchcraft Sixties 