Frosty Penguin Mittens

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Who can resist these adorable penguin partners? Under snowy skies the penguins look after each other while the icy winter winds rage around them. Featuring cute penguins, hearts and snowflakes, this fun-to-knit design will keep hands warm and cosy throughout the winter!

Using DK yarn these mittens work up quickly making them the perfect gift knitting! They are designed using a slightly tighter tension than given on the yarn label to result in a denser, more wind resistant fabric to combat cold winter winds.

Method: These stranded colorwork mittens are knit in the round from the cuff down. They can be worked in two or more contrasting colors and feature a Latvian braid followed by the colorwork motifs. They have a thumb gusset created by lifted increases, and the pattern contains a tutorial for the Latvian braid.

These mittens can be knitted on dpns, by magic loop, or on a short circular (in which case you will still need dpns for the thumb and mitten top decreases).

Please note the colorwork design in this pattern is charted not written out. You need to be prepared to read and work from charts in order to enjoy knitting this design.

Size: This pattern is written in 3 sizes referred to throughout the pattern as S, M, and L.

Size S: 17.5cm (7") mitten circumference, 18cm (7") total mitten length

Size M: 19cm (7.5") mitten circumference, 20cm (7⅞") total mitten length

Size L: 21.5cm (8.5") mitten circumference, 22cm (8⅝") total mitten length

Yarn: You can use any DK yarn that you like and with which you can get gauge. I have chosen to use a 100% wool yarn because the resulting fabric "breathes" better than an acrylic yarn would - this helps your hands not overheat as you warm up when you're out and about.

Please note I do not recommend using yarns with a high cotton content as cotton doesn’t stretch as much as other fibers and this will affect the fit of your mittens.

This is a great pattern to experiment with color and use mini skeins or any leftovers lurking in your stash. Be creative, have fun, but keep in mind changes will affect yardage and number of ends to weave in. The amounts of each color required will depend on how many colors you pick, where you choose to use them in the mittens, and which size you are knitting. As a guide for the mittens pictured (size M in two colors) I used the following quantities of West Yorkshire Spinners ColourLab DK:

MC – 716 Deep Teal approx. 95 metres (104 yards)

CC – 11 Arctic White approx. 55 metres (60 yards)

Needles:

3.75mm dpns, long circular for magic loop, or short circular (in which case you will still need dpns to work the thumbs and the mitten top decreases) or size needed for gauge.

3.25mm dpns (optional short circular/ long circular for magic loop for knitting cuff).

Other Materials Required:

3 Stitch Markers

Waste yarn/ dental floss as preferred

Tape Measure

Scissors

Darning needle to sew in ends