Finished Objects: Squirrelly Swedish Mittens
The Facts:
Pattern: Squirrelly Swedish Mittens (free PDF pattern here) from Elliphantom Knits Thanks, Elli!
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette in Cream, Petal, Red, and Bark- 1 ball each with boatloads of leftovers
Gauge: 9 sts. per inch after blocking
Size: 8.5″ circumference and 9.5″ top to bottom
Needle: size 0 Addi Turbo for Magic Loop
Changes: Changed gauge, added the year, braids and pom poms, changed colors, and subtracted tree tops
Started: April 27, 2006
Finished May 7, 2006
Thoughts:
These were an utter joy to knit, not just because of the colors, but because of the pattern itself. It’s well-written, has nice charts, no mistakes, and SQUIRRELS. From the amount of stuff I changed, you’d think I didn’t like the pattern, but that’s not the case at all. It’s hard not to want to turn mittens into fancy little jewels. I gave in.
I changed the gauge a little to make the mitten a bit bigger. Worked like a charm.
Want to know how to make that braid? All you do is purl with the yarns held in front. Set up the braid by knitting one stitch in each color around. For mine, I did *one pink and one red* repeat between* around. On the next row, bring the yarns over each other as you purl around. On the third row, bring them under. To make the braid point in the opposite direction, do the under first and the over second. You can do these with one, two, three, four colors. Just be sure you purl each color over the same color in the setup row before. Easy Peasy!
Sarah, do you like them?
Shop update tomorrow!
Beth wrote:
Very nice and I love the date on the thumb. Am off to print my copy now.
Thanks, Beth
Posted on 08-May-06 at 10:32 am | Permalink
pippi wrote:
those are wonderful! and i too, love the date on the thumb!
Posted on 08-May-06 at 11:00 am | Permalink
Melanie wrote:
These are so wonderful! I love all the extra touches–the date on the thumb and the pompoms!!
Posted on 08-May-06 at 11:34 am | Permalink
Beth S. wrote:
I love, love, love them. The little pompoms are the most adorable touch!
Posted on 08-May-06 at 12:35 pm | Permalink
Emily wrote:
Oh those pompoms are killing me! SO awesome. I want squirrel mittens too!
Posted on 08-May-06 at 1:34 pm | Permalink
Noelle wrote:
Mouth-drooping awe. Leetle squirrels. Pompoms. Neapolitan colors. I love it!
Posted on 08-May-06 at 4:02 pm | Permalink
Arleta wrote:
Wow. It’s very smart of you to put the date on your stuff, and I love the pompoms!
Posted on 08-May-06 at 4:30 pm | Permalink
Heather wrote:
Oh those are mittens worthy of eating - I love the neopolitan colors and the details of them. Your site is quickly becoming one of my new favorites!
Posted on 08-May-06 at 6:25 pm | Permalink
Julia wrote:
I love how you did Elli’s mittens! I’m going to try some of your techniques when I do mine…the braid, the pom poms. So very cute! Great color choices, too…genius.
Posted on 08-May-06 at 6:41 pm | Permalink
uhoava gnu wrote:
Very cute! Love the pompoms!
Posted on 09-May-06 at 3:58 am | Permalink
vanessa wrote:
love the mittens, love the thumbs, LOVE the pompoms
Posted on 09-May-06 at 11:52 am | Permalink
Julia wrote:
Posted on 10-May-06 at 6:42 am | Permalink
Lizzie wrote:
These are SUPERCUTE! I want to make both the squirrel mittens you’ve done, they’re both adorable.
One question - you changed the gauge to make them bigger, which I’d need to do too. The original gauge is 37 sts and 41 rounds = 4″ in stranded knitting, after blocking. 9.25 sts / inch. Your gauge is 9 sts / inch after blocking. That doesn’t seem like it would make them an inch bigger, yet it does. Am I missing something? I guess the ratio is 1 inch to 1.25 inch, which would be enough. does that make sense?
Posted on 11-May-06 at 1:26 pm | Permalink
cassie-b wrote:
Your mittens are lovely. They remind me of a pair that I made about 10 years ago, that finally gave up last year. There was a hole in one mitten when I got them out of storage.
I tried twice to open the file with the free pattern, but it wouldn’t open. I’ll be back to try again.
Cas
I’m here from Coffee Crochet’s link to your site.
Posted on 12-May-06 at 11:34 am | Permalink
Kristi wrote:
The colors are fantastic–and I am in love with anything that has pom poms and fun details like the braid. If you ever feel like using up that box of palette, I would be a willing recipient for a pair of mittens.
Posted on 20-May-06 at 8:27 am | Permalink
Macoco wrote:
I really like the modifications you made to the pattern. I just started to make a pair this weekend and wish I had seen your notes on the braiding.
Posted on 26-Feb-07 at 2:54 pm | Permalink