Shortest Day

DESCRIPTION

Shortest Day are a pair of colorwork mittens inspired by a magical time of the year: the winter solstice. Little details make these colorwork mittens an enjoyable knit. All the colorwork patterns used are easy to memorize and have short floats that do not need to be caught. At most two colors are used per row, and there are non-colorwork rest rows between the diverse stitch patterns, making for very addicting knitting.

The mittens are worked from the cuff up in three colors of fingering-weight yarn. A folded picot edge frames the cuffs. The mittens have gusseted thumbs, and the colorwork pattern is incorporated into the gusset increases. Right and left mittens are mirror images of each other.

The pattern is written with both metric and US terminology. The stranded colorwork pattern is charted only.

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MATERIALS

Yarn

Tukuwool Fingering (100% wool, 195 m/50 g), 3 colors

• Main color (MC): Sake, 1 skein
• Contrasting color 1 (CC1): Auri, 1 skein
• Contrasting color 2 (CC2): Haave, 1 skein

Or fingering-weight yarn, 3 colors

• MC: approx. 185 m / 205 yd
• CC1: approx. 80 m / 85 yd
• CC2: approx. 35 m / 40 yd

Needles

• 2.5 mm / US #1½ DPNs or circular needle(s) for working small circumferences in the round (or size needed to obtain gauge)

Notions

• 2 stitch markers
• Stitch holder (e.g., a piece of scrap yarn or safety pin) for thumb stitches
• Darning needle
• Yarn guide (optional)

GAUGE

32 sts × 40 rows = 10 cm / 4“ in stranded stockinette, blocked

SIZE

Women’s S (64 sts)

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

• Palm circumference: approx. 20 cm / 8”
• Length from tip to wrist: approx. 26 cm / 10¼“

TECHNIQUES USED

The pattern uses the following techniques: working small circumferences in the round, ability to work stranded colorwork from chart, and increasing/decreasing within colorwork. The pattern assumes knowledge of grafting with Kitchener stitch and hand sewing using whip stitch.

REFERENCES

• Color dominance in colorwork