UPCYCLED OVEN MITT: PART 2 by Melissa Somerville

 

Scrap-happy oven mitten

 

First things first: I love this little oven mitt. They are such hard workers in the kitchen- helping tote the hot pans or doing double duty as trivets and handle protectors when we move skillets from a hot oven to the table.  And the way it stands up by itself on the kitchen counter makes me feel like I get a cheerful wave every time I walk into the kitchen. But as much as I wanted a simple pattern for an ambidexterous mitt, I never really liked the way the afterthought thumb looked, just poking out the side like, well, a sore thumb.

Since the pattern first appeared in the Fall 2010 issue of Tangled, I’ve knit a goofy-looking gaggle of oven mitts trying to find a thumb gusset that translated from wool to twined t-shirt yarn. I finally found one, in a pattern for Latvian mittens. This is still a simple knit, but I think adding this gusset creates a mitt with a more natural- looking thumb.

 

New and improved thumb gusset

Revision for sizes Small, Medium and Large. 

Cast on 36,(40,44) stitches and knit using the original mitt pattern to the point where the thumb opening begins. (Note: Remember that where the pattern says “knit” you will be working the twined knit technique.) 

Thumb Gusset

Set up round: Knit 17(19, 20) pm, K2(2,4) pm, knit to end of round.

Round 1; knit to marker, sm, M1R,K2(2,4) M1L, sm, knit to end of round.

Round 2: Knit even.

Repeat Rounds 1&2 until there are 12(14, 16) sts between markers. On the next round, knit to first marker, remove marker, place 12(14, 16) sts on scrap yarn, remove second marker. Using the backward-loop method  make 2(2,4) sts then continue across row to end of round. Don’t forget to alternate the working strands when you cast in the pattern you’ve established for the mitt.

Return to pattern and complete mitt.

Move the live thumb stitches from waste yarn and divide evenly on three needles. Joining in with Color A, knit the first stitch, then knit the second stitch with Color B. (Joining in the new yarns will make this first round a bit fiddly, but tighten up those first stitches after you are done knitting across Needle 1 and again before starting round 2.) Continue to knit across thumb stitches using the twined technique.

At the end of the row, make one stitch with Color A and make one stitch using Color B using the backward loop method. Total thumb stitches 14(16,18.)

Work the thumb even in twined knitting until it is the desired length, then on the final round *k2tog* with Color A.  Cut yarn leaving a six-inch tail, thread this through the remaining thumb stitches and pull tight. Weave in all ends. Any gaps at the top of the gusset can be stitched shut at this time.

Another Note: When I knit these at home for myself and my family, I start the decreases in the main body of the mitt when it is just a row or two past the tip of the recipient’s little finger. I then knit the thumb even until it is a row or two past the tip of their thumb, or just a row shy of reaching the point where I started the decreases for the hand. Since these are for insulation and not warmth, this extra bit of wiggle room helps insulate while maintaining a nice hand/thumb proportion.

 

Hot bread, cool hands