Friday, November 25, 2005

Felted Mittens

Lynn’s Feltable Mittens
One mitten finished, one with just the cuff done. one down, one to go

Both mittens after felting. they shrink a lot

Felting instructions are at the end of the pattern.

Materials needed
2 - 50g balls of 4 ply knitting worsted. I used Lion wool. If you plan to felt the mittens, you will need to buy 100% wool yarn. Check the label to make sure it isn’t superwash wool, as this type won’t felt. Crocheting this pattern as printed will yield mittens the right size for an 8-12 year-old child. Adjust as instructed for larger or smaller sizes.

Hook – G if you crochet loose, H if you crochet tight.

This pattern is designed so the mitten will fit either hand.
All stitches on the cuff are through the back loops only.

Ch. 14 to begin.

ROW 1 - 1 sc in 3rd ch from hook, 1 sc in next 11 chains, ch 1, turn. (12 sc)

ROW 2 - 1 sc in next 12 sc (remember, through the back loops of stitches only), ch 1, turn. (12 sc) (If you are making larger mittens, add 2-3 more rows here - for smaller mittens, subtract a couple rows.)

ROWS 3 to 26 - Same as Row 2.

ROW 27 - Joining row, ss to corresponding chainss in Row 1, turn inside out (this is the right side). CONTINUE AS FOLLOWS FOR THE REST OF THE MITTEN (all sts through both loops)

ROW 1 - With right side of work towards you, ch 1, 1 sc in the end of each row of ribbing. Join with ch 1. (27 sc, - this st count will be different on all rows if you are making smaller or larger mittens.)

ROW 2 - *Sc around Mark rows with a safety pin. Do not turn. The rest of the mitten is worked in a spiral). (30 sc)

ROW 3-8 - Sc around.

ROW 9 - 1 sc in next st, ch 5, skip next 5 sts (this is for the thumb opening), 1 sc in the next 24 sts. (make a smaller thumb opening for smaller mittens, larger thumb opening for larger mittens. For mittens that are going to be felted, I used 7 sts for the thumb for an 8-10 year old child)

ROW 10-20 - Repeat Row 2 (work the 5 chains for thumb opening as if they were regular sts. Add a few more rows for larger mittens, subtract rows for smaller mittens.)

ROW 21 - 1 sc in first st, decrease over the next 4 sts by crocheting 2 sc tog twice, 1 sc in next 11 sts, dec over next 4 sts by crocheting 2 sc tog twice, 1 sc in next 10 sts. (26 sc)

ROW 22 – Sc around.

ROW 23 - 1 sc in the first st, dec over next 4 sts by crocheting 2 sc tog twice, 1 sc in next 9 sts, dec over next 4 sts by crocheting 2 sc tog twice, 1 sc in next 8 sts. (22 sc)

ROW 24 – Sc around, ss to join. ROW 25 - 1 sc in first st, dec over next 4 sts by crocheting 2 sc tog twice, 1 sc in next 7 sts, dec over next 4 sts by crocheting 2 sc tog twice, 1 sc in next 6 sts. (18 sc)

ROW 26 – Sc around, ss to join.ROW 27 - 1 sc in first st, dec over next 4 sts by crocheting 2 sc tog twice, 1 sc in next 5 sts, dec over next 4 sts by crocheting 2 sc tog twice, 1 sc in next 4 sts. (14 sc)

ROW 28 - 2 sc, * 2 sc tog, 1 sc in next st *, Repeat from * to * 3 more times, ss to join. Cut yarn leaving about an 8 to 10 inch tail, pull yarn through the last ch1. Using a yarn needle, weave yarn through the 14 sts of last Row, pull tight to close up the end of the mitten, weave in yarn to secure closing and fasten off.

Thumb row 1 - Join yarn, ch 1 and 1 sc in the first st of thumb opening, 1 sc in the next 4 sts, pick up 7 sts around the remaining thumb opening, ss to join to first sc. (12 sc - more or less if you are making smaller or larger mittens.)

ROW 2-6 – Sc around. Continue working in a spiral as you did with the rest of the mitten. Add a few more rows for larger (longer) thumb, subtract rows for smaller (shoerter) thumb.

ROW 7 - 1 sc in next 4 sc, 2 sc tog, 1 sc in next 4 sc, 2 sc tog. (10 sc)

ROW 8 – Sc around, ss to join. Cut yarn leaving about an 8 to 10 inch tail, pull yarn through the last ch1. Using a yarn needle, weave yarn through the 10 sts of the last row, pull tight to close up the end of the thumb, weave in yarn to secure closing and fasten off. Weave in the tail end at the beginning of the cuff.

Felting Instructions
This works best with a top-loading washer, as you can control the amount of time the mittens are in the hot water and thus the amount of felting and shrinkage.

Set washer at lowest water level on hot wash, cold rinse cycle. Add small amount of laundry soap, place mittens in washer along with a couple of T-shirts or pairs of jeans to aid in agitation. Don’t use towels, as they shed lint and your mittens will end up looking old and dull. Run washer through cycle, checking mittens after five minutes. Continue to check them every five minutes until they are the size you want.

Stop wash cycle if it hasn’t come to the end to avoid further shrinkage. Run through rinse and spin. Remove mittens from washer, gently reshape and let dry on a folded towel.

These mittens will be the warmest you will ever wear!

Abbreviations used in this pattern
sc = single crochet
st = stitch
ss = slip stitch
sc tog = single crochet together
ch = chain
dec = decrease by crocheting two stitches together

14 Comments:

At 5:03 PM, Blogger MaggieBlue said...

Bekah, I've felted with both one and two strands of yarn and to me they both felt the same. If anything, one strand works a little better than two. Let me know how your mittens came out!

 
At 9:44 PM, Blogger Mimi said...

I just have to try this tote. thanks for sharing. Very nice!

 
At 2:49 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

There's no need to use two strands - a single strand felts just fine :) We've been knitting fisherman mittens for generation in my family with a single strand, and when we open our yarn shop, continued in classes with a single strand coming out just fine.

It's the Golden Rule - There's no one "right" way to knit or crochet or even felt!

Love these mittens, can't wait to give them a go!

 
At 1:37 PM, Blogger pat said...

Hi
Just felted my first pair of mittens following your pattern-way cool! The cuffs are kind of weird tho, really loose like they didn't shrink/felt like the rest of the mitten. I still love them and they are for ME. I don't make myself much these days. Too bad it's about 45 degrees today-no snow in sight to test them out. I'll be making these mittens again! Thanks, Pat

 
At 7:22 PM, Blogger Crafty Andy said...

Thanks for the great pattern and instructions , I have felted with a boiling pot of water lol!

 
At 9:40 PM, Blogger dana said...

Maggieblue,

Could you please clarify something on your mitten pattern, On row 1 you end with 27 sc then how on row 2 do you end with 30 sc?

Sincerely,
Dana

 
At 6:48 AM, Blogger Bethy said...

II made these mittens and LOVE them. I work at a school and have 2 recess duties a day, they are the only thing I have found to keep my hands warm. Do you have directions to make them larger for the guys in the family?

 
At 4:27 PM, Blogger craftybegonia said...

Those look so warm! I tried felting once, and it was coming out but I set the project aside and now I cannot find it. Will have to try again. I love the look of felted crochet!

 
At 2:48 PM, Blogger vicky said...

i have a question if you have no washing machine is there another way to felt thanks vicky by the way love your pattern easy

 
At 2:48 PM, Blogger vicky said...

i have a question if you have no washing machine is there another way to felt thanks vicky by the way love your pattern easy

 
At 3:01 PM, Blogger JennyB said...

Hi Maggie,

I am one of the editors at AllFreeCrochet and I see that we have linked to one of your patterns (Felted Mittens) on our site. We are updating our records and I wanted to confirm with you that we have permission to link to your projects, as well as feature them in our newsletters with the image. Our newsletter (Hooked on Crochet) goes out to more than 400,000 subscribers, so it will definitely help bring traffic to your site.

Can you please confirm that it's okay to link to your patterns from our site? My email address is Jbenoit@primecp.com.

Should you have additional questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at Jbenoit@primecp.com or visit our site at
http://www.allfreecrochet.com.

Thanks!

 
At 3:02 PM, Blogger JennyB said...

Hi Maggie,

I am one of the editors at AllFreeCrochet and I see that we have linked to one of your free patterns on our site (Felted Mittens). We are updating our records and I wanted to confirm with you that we have permission to link to your projects, as well as feature them in our newsletters with the image. Our newsletter (Hooked on Crochet) goes out to more than 400,000 subscribers, so it will definitely help bring traffic to your site.

Can you please confirm that it's okay to link to your patterns from our site? My email address is Jbenoit@primecp.com.

Should you have additional questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at Jbenoit@primecp.com or visit our site at
http://www.allfreecrochet.com.

Thanks!

 
At 2:31 PM, Blogger Cece's Creationz said...

Any natural fiber will felt because these fibers have "tooth" or little layers. If you've seen a magnification of a strand of human hair you know what I mean. This is what enables the felting to work. The yarn strands grab hold of each other to create a solid "fabric". You can felt any wool, even merino or cashmere although I wonder why you would felt cashmere. Anything other than merino makes me itchy so I have to use this. And I hear on my LoneStarStateKnitters yahoo group that even your pets hair when spun with wool can go into a felted project.

Also, even though you felt something you cannot wash it in the washing machine with your other things in hot water. It will continue to felt until it's too small for use.

Just some hints & tips I've picked up or else learned the hard way.

 
At 8:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I need the instructions to make these mitts in an adult size. Where are the instructions for making larger sizes?

 

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