I am a lazy knitters, I don’t like knitting that take too much work or is too boring. This doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate lace or cables and enjoy knitting them. It just means I like to keep things simple, a wonderful easy to memorize lace pattern, super bulky yarn when you need a quick knit, or some elegant waist shaping that takes the monotony out of boring stockinette that goes on forever.

Snow is a rare thing here in Georgia, but we had the wonderful gift of a white Christmas this year. Last year I kept saying I would knit mittens for my 2 year old but I never got around to it and we had a few instances of a crying toddler because her hands turned red from the cold. This year I was determined and it took two false starts to get what I wanted.

First I tried a little fair isle mitten, but it came out too small and after several hours knitting with no result I was frustrated with little progress, she needed these the next day. Then I tried a bulky yarn pattern, but the yarn was just not soft enough (you need it a bit flexible for little hands to play) and I found that her tiny little thumb never found its way into the thumb hole, or somehow poked through the bulk yarn. I realized that by not having a thumb in her mittens not only would she be more warm with all of her fingers together, but it would be much easier to knit.

My good friend Allegra suggested I make a pair to match my Serendipity Hat.

Here they are, the perfect little pair of mittens for the little ones in your life, and a matching pair for yourself!

Serendipity Mittens

Size
Toddler, Pre-K, Child, Small Adult
To fit hand circumference: 4 [5, 5.5, 6.5] inches
Shown in size Pre-k

Gauge
10 sts = 4 inches in St st on size 13 US needle (or size needed to obtain gauge)

Materials
· 35 [40, 50, 65] yards Bulky Weight Yarn
· Note: Model worked in Spud and Chloe Outer (Super
Bulky) #7206 Sunkissed
· Knitting needles, size 13 (9 mm) inch circulars (24 inches or longer in length) or dpns

Notes
Mittens are worked in the round, using the magic loop method. You may knit then on dpns or two circulars if you prefer. Pair shown are actually .5 inches to short for her, I adjusted the final pattern, I had forgotten to include ease in length.

Cuffs
Ccast on 14 [14, 16, 20] stitches, join in the round.
Starting with a purl round, create 6 ridges working in Garter Stitch (in the round, p 1 round, k 1 round).

Hand
Knit even for 4 [4.5 5.5, 7] inches.
Decrease round:
Next round: Ssk, k 3[3, 4, 6,] stitches, k2tog (you are decreasing on the left and right side of the mittens), repeat once more on back of mitten.
Next round: k across
Next round: Ssk, k 1[1, 2, 4,] stitches, k2tog (you are decreasing on the left and right side of the mittens), repeat once more on back of mitten.
Next round: k across

Cut yarn and use darning needle to slip the end through the remaining stitches, pull tight to close the hole. Turn mitten inside out, weave in the end and trim.

Finishing
Weave in cast on end.

This pattern is copyright Brandy Fortune 2010, you may not copy or re-distribute in any manner. I am offering it here on my blog for personal use only.