Pages

Wednesday, 20 June 2012

Vine Lace Mitts

Both designs feature the same traditional vine lace pattern, but with a slight visual difference – one stands up straight while the other meanders along the wrist. Each flows into the parallel lines of a razorshell lace panel over the back of the hand. A decorative lace border across the knuckles creates a delicate cast-off edge.



Three sizes are available for these mitts
1.  Petite/Small (6/6.5 inches), 
2.  Medium/Large (7/7.5 inches) and 
3.  Extra-Large (8/8.5 inches). 
Measure around the widest point of your hand at your knuckle to find your size. This mitt has negative ease, which means it should have a fitted appearance, stretching around your hand with the cuff snug against your wrist. If your mitt looks all loosey-goosey, go down a needle size to achieve a closer fit. Two different methods for casting on the cuff are provided. I find a crochet provisional cast-on is simple and painless, even if you have never crocheted before in. your. life. Trust me.

Too lazy to do a provisional cast-on? Yeah, me too. Just follow the lazyman’s instructions below.

MATERIALS

  • 125 – 250 yards / 115 – 230 meters of
  • fingering weight / 4 ply yarn
  • size 2 US / 2.75 mm double-pointed needles, or
  • size to obtain correct gauge
  • a few wee little stitch markers
  • a tapestry needle
GAUGE
8 stitches = 1 inch in St st

DIRECTIONS

THE CUFF
CO 40 [50, 60] stitches, using either provisional or long-tail (lazyman) method.

PROVISIONAL CUFF
Knit across one row and join to begin working in the round. Place stitch marker to mark beginning of rnd.
Rnds 1-6: Knit for 6 rnds.
Rnd 7: Purl one rnd.
Rnds 8-14: Knit for 7 rnds.
Undo provisional cast-on and slip cast-on sts onto extra needle.
Fold the cast-on edge sts inward toward the live sts, making sure the St st side (right side) is facing out, and purl side sts are facing inward toward each other. Holding the cast-on sts behind the live sts, knit one cast-on st and one live st together. Rep k2tog one st from each needle for the entire rnd.
Rnd 15 (inc rnd): *k10, m1* rep to end. 44 [55, 66] sts.

LAZYMAN’S CUFF
After CO, join to begin working in the round. Place stitch marker to mark beginning of rnd.
Rnds 1-6: Knit for 6 rnds.
Rnd 7: Purl one rnd.
Rnds 8-14: Knit for 7 rnds.
Fold the cast-on edge inward toward the live sts, making sure the St st side (ride side) is facing out, and purl side sts are facing inward toward each other. Pick up one st from cast-on edge with right needle, and then slip it to the left needle. With right needle, knit picked up st and nearest live st together. Rep this method of picking up and k2tog for entire rnd.
Rnd 15 (inc rnd): *k10, m1* rep to end. 44 [55, 66] sts.

THE BODY

TO KNIT ISHBEL:
At the end of every lace rnd (even rnd), remove your marker, knit one stitch, and then replace your marker to adjust for the new beginning of the rnd. Continue knitting pattern as written. Your st count should remain the same. The effect is that the design shifts over once in every rnd, thereby making your sl1, k2tog, psso stitch “bumps” line up vertically.



TO KNIT ELENA:
You don’t actually think Elena requires hard work, do you? Just knit the pattern!



VINE LACE PATTERN
Rnd 16: *k5, yo, k1, yo, k2, sl1, k2tog, psso* rep 4 [5, 6] more times to end of rnd.
Rnd 17 (and all odd rnds): Knit even.
Rnd 18: *k4, yo, k3, yo, k1, sl1, k2tog, psso* to end.
Rnd 20: *k3, yo, k5, yo, sl1, k2tog, psso* to end.
Rnd 22: *k2, yo, k1, yo, k5, sl1, k2tog, psso* to end.
Rnd 24: *k1, yo, k3, yo, k4, sl1, k2tog, psso* to end.
Rnd 26: *yo, k5, yo, k3, sl1, k2tog, psso* to end.
Rnds 28-38: Repeat rnds 16 to 26.



THUMB GUSSET
Now you will divide your sts to knit thumb gusset for the right or left hands, as instructed below. You will begin knitting the razorshell lace panel as you build your thumb. If using circular needles, simply use stitch markers to mark
beginning and end of lace panel, as well as sts of thumb gusset.

RIGHT HAND
Split sts using needle one for the 21 [25, 29] sts of the lace panel, needle two for the 8 [10, 12] of the thumb gusset and knitting last 15 [20, 25] St sts on needle three.
Rnd 39: Knit even.
Rnd 40: Work sized razorshell lace panel [see sidebar] on needle one, knit to end of rnd.
Rnd 41-45: Rep rnds 39 and 40, ending with a rep of rnd 39.
Rnd 46: Knit lace panel on first needle. On second needle, knit as follows: k2 [k3, k4], pm, m1, k2, m1, pm, k4 [k5, k6]. Knit across needle three. There should be 4 thumb sts between markers.
Rnd 47: Knit even.
Rnd 48 (inc rnd): Work lace panel on needle one. On needle two, knit to first marker, slm, m1, knit to the next marker, m1, slm, knit to end of needle. Knit even across needle three. 

6 thumb sts.
Repeat rnds 47 and 48, increasing in this manner until 16 [18, 20] thumb sts sit between markers. Knit one round even.
For next rnd, work lace panel on needle one.
On needle two knit to one st before first marker, kfb, slip thumb sts onto waste yarn, pull yarn tightly across the gap left by the thumb stitches, kfb, then knit across needle three. 44 [55, 66] sts.

RAZORSHELL LACE PANEL
This lace panel is a simple one-row repeat designed specially for each size.

PETITE/SMALL:  k3, (yo, sl1, k2tog, psso, yo, k3) 3 times. [21 sts]

MEDIUM/LARGE:  k5, (yo, sl1, k2tog, psso, yo, k3) 2 times, yo, sl1, k2tog, psso, yo, k5. [25 sts]

EXTRA-LARGE:  k4, (yo, sl1, k2tog, psso, yo, k3) 3 times, yo, sl1, k2tog, psso, yo, k4. [29 sts]

Continue razor lace panel until roughly half an inch [1 cm] from desired end of mitt, finishing with an odd rnd.

Note: If knitting middle size, dec once in the final odd rnd with a k2tog at end of third needle. 44 [54, 66] sts.

LEFT HAND
Split sts using needle one for the 21 [25, 29] sts of the lace panel, knitting 15 [20, 25] St sts on needle two, and needle three for the 8 [10, 12] of the thumb gusset.
Rnd 39: Knit even.
Rnd 40: Work sized razorshell lace panel [see sidebar] on needle one, knit to end of rnd.
Rnd 41-45: Rep rnds 39 and 40, ending with a rep of rnd 39.
Rnd 46: Knit lace panel on first needle. Knit across needle two. On third needle, knit as follows: k4 [k5, k6], pm, m1, k2, m1, pm, k2 [k3, k4]. There should be 4 thumb sts between markers.
Rnd 47: Knit even.
Rnd 48 (inc rnd): Work lace panel on needle one. Knit even across needle two. On needle three, knit to first marker, slm, m1, knit to the next marker, m1, slm, knit to end of needle. Repeat rnds 47 and 48, increasing in this manner until 16 [18, 20] thumb sts sit between markers. Knit one round even.
For next rnd, work lace panel on needle one.
Knit across needle two, and on needle three, knit to first marker, kfb, slip the thumb sts onto waste yarn, kfb, knit to end of needle. 44 [55, 66] sts.
Continue razor lace panel until roughly half an inch [1 cm] from desired end of mitt, finishing with an odd rnd.
Remember when knitting middle size to k2tog once in final odd rnd. 44 [54, 66] sts.

DECORATIVE EDGE
To finish off the mitts, for the final five rnds we are creating a decorative edge. You can always substitute this for one of your own, like a simple turned-over hem to match the cuff around the wrist.
Rnd 1: Purl.
Rnd 2: Knit.
Rnd 3: *yo, k2tog* to end of rnd.
Rnd 4: Knit.
Rnd 5: Purl.
BO loosely. Return to finish thumb, as shown below.

THE THUMB
Pick up thumb sts from waste yarn, dividing onto two needles. With third needle, pick up 4 sts from the edge of the mitt’s upper thumb opening. 20 [22, 24] sts.
Knit in St st for about 6 rnds, until roughly half an inch [1 cm] from desired end of thumb.  Rep five rnds of decorative edge.
BO loosely. Weave in all ends.

FINISHING
To block, soak in cool water. Fold mitts into a towel and pat gently to remove excess water.  Stretch each mitt flat, pinning the wrist and palm to ensure lace is arranged properly. Allow to dry, keeping mitts away from blown hot or cool air (Trust me, I’ve made more than one yarn stiff and gnarly trying to dry it over a vent). Unpin your mitts, put them onto your hands and go play outside!



ABBREVIATIONS
CO – cast on
BO – bind off
dpn(s) – double-pointed needle(s)
k – knit
kfb – knit through the front and then the back of the same stitch (increase)
k2tog – knit two stitches together (decrease) 
m1 – make one (increase)
p – purl
pm – place marker
psso – pass the slipped stitch over
rnd(s) – round(s)
rep – repeat
sl – slip
slm – slip marker
st – stitch
sts – stitches
St st – Stockinette stitch
RS – right side
WS – wrong side