Malabrigo Peekaboo Mitten

I decided I best figure out how the pattern worked before I went and attempted any major changes (i.e. moving down to Koigu KPPPM gauge yarn), so I made a mitten out of Malabrigo Worsted Yarn in the colorway Forest:

The Down-and-Dirty Details:

• Cuff: Casted on 40 stitches with size 5 needles( which I thought were size 4 needles since they were labeled as such...and where are my size 3 needles? Who knows? Probably Mamoko cat!), joined in the round, switched to size 2 needles and worked k2, P2 for 1 3/4 inches.
• Hand: Knit on size 5 needles, still using only 40 stitches.
• Cuff, again: After finishing up the mitten, I decided that the cuff was not small enough on the wrist so I picked up the cuff stitches and decreased it by 6 stitches on the palm side (less visible, hopefully, for real-world wear). Knit those 36 stitches in pattern for another quarter of an inch. For the next mitten, I shall just cast on 36 stitches and knit in pattern for 2 inches and then increase on the stockinette. The left mitten won't be a perfect match for the right, but I am not all about perfection when it comes to my knitting. If I wanted perfection I would buy machine-made mittens. It's all about process, folks, process and enjoyment for me. Plus, I'd like to get some use out of these mittens before this winter ends and in California, that could be tomorrow or sometime in April the way our weird weather has been acting! Oh, and perhaps I'll make a matching Malabrigo hat of some sort to match! (Holly of HollYarns)
  

Hubby's Mittens

Hello!

I just love seeing how everyone's Peekaboo mittens have come out!
This was my first pair, done in some hand spun wool I bought at a fiber fair.




I finished my second pair yesterday. I didn't even get a chance to have a photoshoot with them first before Hubby wore them out to play in the snow with the kids.









I made them from an angora/wool blend yarn recycled from a thrift store sweater. Hubby says they're incredibly warm and were even good for sledding (although Megan was right about making snowballs).

I think I'll go through my yarn stash and whip up another pair. I've got a couple of March birthdays I need gifts for!

Mitten progress

I decided to knit my peekaboos with purple Lamb's Pride worsted---thought I'd stick to the suggested yarn since these are my first mittens. I have almost finished the first one--just need to kitchener the top and add a thumb! The Technocat is inspecting the quality of my knitting so far....

This has been a great learning process for me.....Started out on dpn's, but the cuff didn't look tidy enough, so started over on two circs, which is working out great! That casting on stitches in the middle of rows led to a few frogging incidents, but I think I 've finally got it. Now, the only thing I'm still a little puzzled about is how exactly to get that thumb gusset back and arranged on the needles......hmmmm. Maybe I'll use a tiny little lifeline in the thumb stitches on the stitch holder before I go ahead. I'd hate to get this far and get into a mess.....I'm not very good at frogging to get back to the original stitches without losing my way somehow. Wish me luck on the thumb!

deb

I'm in!

Time for some ME-knitting! Finally finished the third multi-directional scarf last night. Started to knit a kid's sweater for Afghans for Afghans, but decided I needed a break from knitting for others.

I've cast on for the Peekaboo Mittens and am using Koigu KPPPM from my Sockret Pal in the colorway P137.

I originally cast on 48 stitches using a size #3 needle and did the cuff in k2,p2 ribbing for 1.5 inches and then switched to stockinette. I found that that many stitches on a size #3 needle in Koigu KPPPM was way too loose so I had to frog it back and reconsider. I have now used size #3 needles to do the cast on of 40 stitches. After joining in the round on size #3 needles, I have switched to size #2 needles for the k2, p2 ribbing pattern. I am planning to switch back up to size #3 for the rest of the mitten when I am finished with the K2, P2 ribbing; that is, for the stockinette part of the pattern.

Although, the pattern calls for size #4 needles, I have switched down to size #2 & #3 needles to accommodate for using a different yarn and for my smaller hands. In swatching (by gods, I actually swatched!) I found that on size #3 needles I get a 3 inch by 3 inch gauge swatch instead of the pattern's 4 inch by 4 inch swatch. My hand's circumference at their biggest point around the fingers (not counting the thumb) is 6 inches, while my wrist circumference is a little less than 5 inches. The pattern lists the finished circumference as 8 inches (but I am not sure whether that includes the thumb?)--so, here's to (hopefully) good luck accompanied by great hope that they'll work. {Note to self: I'll have to gradually add in 8 stitches--in sets of twos--before I reach the stockinette}

I am thinking that this colorway of KPPPM--that I am using for my Peekaboo mittens--will go great with a scarf made out of this yarn (that B. gave to me):

Holly of HollYarns

Needle Question

Hi there! I am new to the knitalong and was wondering about the needles-has anyone knit these with 4 needles instead of 5? I have a set of 4 DPN's and I can use a circular for the 5th if need be-I just don't really feel like buying another just for one more needle. If anyone has adjusted it to do 4, I'd love to hear about it. I know I could just figure out the decreases on three needles but I have 3 little kids (one of whom is not quite 4 months old) and the hubby is out of town and my brain is just tired so I thought I'd ask if anyone's already done it. Thanks!

One mitten, minus a thumb.

Hi gang! I've just started my first pair of these adorable mittens and I'm loving them. I am a photographer who shoots outdoors quite often. Every pair of mittens or gloves or combo of the two that I have tried are either too bulky, too difficult to manage, or plainly do not keep my fingers warm. That's why I was so excited to stumble over this pattern. I did have to make some adjustments, though. My hands are quite small, so I ended up knitting with size 5 DPNs using Noro Kureyon in blues/grays. Since this gauge made them much narrower than the pattern, I also had to add about 8 rows of stockinette to the mitten top above the finger opening in order to make them proportionate. I only have to finish the thumb and I'll be finished with mitten number 1 of the pair.

The only snag I have hit was something that has already been discussed here - the unsightly hole left in the corner of the finger opening where the stitches were cast back on for the top of the opening. Not sure how to keep this snug enough not to create that hole while keeping it loose enough to knit easily. For mitten number 1 I simply sewed the hole with waste yarn. Maybe I'll sprout a better method when I get to #2. It might help to know which CO method others are using to put those stitches back on. Anyone? Bueller?

Here they are!

Thank you, Megan for such a easy mitten pattern. I made these shorter by doing less rows on the Mitten Top. The total length of the mittens is 8 inches. More details on my blog.

This orange pair is for my friend. I should be finished with my own pair soon. And my DH has requested a pair for himself! He thinks they are so cool.

Yarn: Lamb's Pride Worsted (1 skein) Color: Autumn Harvest M-22

Completed mittens

This pattern came along at a good time, it's cold here in Chicago, and i needed new mittens. Here they are:

They were a bit large on me, so i felted them a little since i figured that would only make them warmer, and it did the trick. That's what i get for not measuring my hand. the gauge was right on. It's a great pattern, i am sure i will be making more as gifts.

Hello to everyone!

Just wanted to drop in and say hi! I'm so happy to have happened upon this great pattern and this knitalong! I'm a rank newbie in the mitten-knitting department, so I don't know when I'll be posting my first finished pair. But the mittens are really cute, and I'm going to go look for some yarn in the next couple of days so I can get started! Hope you all don't mind questions along the way....:) Happy mitten knittin!

deb

thick peekaboos

I was surfing around blogs and free pattern sites, looking for a pair of convertible mittens that weren't too fussy. I checked magknits and wow -- perfect! Just what I wanted! I didn't even realize it was a new issue.

It's so cold in Michigan right now (yeah, I know Canada is colder -- Canadians seriously rock) that I wanted super-thick mittens. I used a strand of thick, prickly Jamieson's shetland in blue and a strand of baby alpaca in green to soften it a tad. I did some gauge swatching and realized I'd have to change the pattern to accommodate the hefty fabric I was working with. I cast on 28 stitches and worked from there.

I wanted the mittens really thick so I stuck to a size 7 needle (6 on the cuffs). This produced an almost pre-felted fabric, but it's not really stiff -- just right for me. I did have to knit more slowly than usual with the thick yarnage on smaller needles, but it wasn't difficult.

I did single ribbing around the slit, as the fabric was too thick in double ribbing to contract much. I changed the top of the mitten by mistake (misplaced the directions), so it's a bit pointier than in the original pattern.

I adore these mittens. They're perfect for keeping my hands warm while I'm driving, while allowing me to manipulate the keys and grip the wheel. In fact, I never blocked them -- just put them on as soon as I was done.

My next pair will be in the yarn called for and knit as directed. Then I plan a pair in alpaca . . . .

By and By I come...

So I still have the first mitten on the needles since I'm working on three other projects...but what knitter isn't?

The first one I put a flower pattern into the back of the right mitten though it is a bit vague, I mean subtle. *ahem*

For the next pair of mittens I already got excited and bought some yarn. What do you think of the colors?

~LOVE this pattern!~

I have to say AGAIN - THANK YOU MEGAN for this pattern (and the knit-a-long)! I have never been a mitten person, but I keep score for my daughter's softball games and they can be pretty cold during the indoor sessions in the "dome" and at the beginning of the season outside. Holding a pencil with gloves is almost impossible and I look forward to getting A LOT of use out of these. This is my 4th pair - the first 3 were given away and these are MINE :) I also made myself a Caliorimetry to keep my ears warm and I'm holding firm that the girls aren't going to talk me into giving these to them! lol

I used Lamb's Pride in Medieval Red which is more of a burgandy color than shown here and the only change I made to the pattern was to add a few extra rows after the wrist band to make that part a bit longer. I also used size 6 dpn's for the ribbing on the wrist as I like it a bit more snug!

I see a LOT more of these in the very near future - a great way to get a jump on Christmas Knitting for next year! wooooooooo hooooooooo!

Cathy
http://tightlywoundlooselyknit.blogspot.com

The Next Pair

I finished the Lamb's Pride orange pair. I gave them a bath so I am waiting for them to dry before I can take some photos. I started another pair and this time, these are for me. Here is a sneak peek.

Buttons!

Cathy was kind enough to create some buttons for this knitalong! Thanks Cathy! Please feel free to download these images and post them to your own blog, and if you want to design more buttons to share with the knitalongers, please do so!

Members Blogs

Hi everyone! This knitalong is getting new members every day, so it won't be long before there's a whole gaggle of peekaboo enthusiasts posting here! Hooray! I set up the 'Members' list in the sidebar to have links to member blogs, if I don't know your blog url (or if you don't have a blog) the link for your name will just redirect here. But, if you have a blog that I don't know about, please e-mail me the url and I'll get you linked up.

Happy Knitting!

One Down....

Hi everyone,

I am excited to join this KAL. I have plenty of fingerless mitts, but no mittens. This is my first time knitting mittens. I got my yarn this weekend and couldn't wait to cast on. I am using Lamb's Pride and just finished the right hand side one. It was a lot of fun.

Question:
After putting the 9 stitches back on the needles from the waste yarn on the gusset and then picking up 4 stitches, I noticed it left a hole on each side. It's where the gusset stitches meet up with the 4 picked up stitches. Am I doing something wrong? I just took the yarn left over from the thumb part and stitched it up. It looks fine, but I am wondering if I could have avoided the holes.

Greetings!

I saw the Peekaboo mittens through Amy's blog and since I want to make a few pairs for myself and others, anyway, I thought it would be great to join in the fun here. I have a skein of Lamb's Pride worsted weight in a navy blue that I'm going to use first, and then I'm going to try some others, as well. Fun!

Hello!

just saying a quick hi! i was lucky enough to be a test knitter for this pattern so i already have my first completed pair. i am thinking now that i need a pair made out of some kind of noro yarn. can't wait to see what others come up with!

Welcome!

Welcome to the Peekaboo Mittens Knitalong! Everyone is welcome to join and share pictures, questions, and comments about the Peekaboo Mitten pattern by Megan of Pensive Frog.