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Hands Occupied

Contemporary yarn crafts by Heidi Gustad. Knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame.

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Vintage Checked Mittens

January 19, 2015 2 Comments

Vintage Checked Mittens at HandsOccupied.com

My grandmother knitted these mittens for my mom when she was a teen. When I was home for Christmas, my mom said I could have them, and I was obviously excited, particularly because my mom’s mom is the woman who taught me to knit. These are so special to have and I’m so glad that they happen to fit me as well! They’re really a sweet little set of mittens with a basic checked motif, and I absolutely love the color. The yarn feels like it’s mostly acrylic, which might be why they’re in such good shape. The icing on the cake is their fabulous color, which is probably thanks to their being made in the mid-70s. Trends in the 60s and 70s led to some really fantastic colors that you’d be hard pressed to come across in 2015.

Vintage Checked Mittens at HandsOccupied.com

These checked mittens are great if you have relatively small hands or are making them for a teen. You can also experiment with a slightly larger yarn for a slightly larger mitten if you’re feeling adventurous or are confident in calculating your own gauge.

Vintage Checked Mittens at HandsOccupied.com

Vintage Checked Mittens Pattern

Gauge – approx. 6 sts/inch & 7 rows/inch

Supplies

sport weight yarn that works with the listed gauge
size 4 circular knitting needles or double pointed needles
stitch holder (scrap yarn or a safety pin works)
tapestry needle or crochet hook for weaving in ends

Abbreviations

CO – cast on
k – knit
p – purl
sts – stitches
k2tog – knit 2 stitches together
p2tog – purl 2 stitches together
kfb – knit front and back (tutorial)
m1 – make 1 (tutorial)
m1p – make 1 purl stitch (tutorial)
(x sts) – the number of stitches that should be in the row after an increase or decrease row

Pattern

Note: This was reverse engineered from the mittens shown, so some of the repeats are a little off and the increases used are a little less common than you might see in other mitten patterns today. Like many of the knit objects I’ve inherited from my grandmothers, these were likely just whipped up one day as a gift or fun little snow day project. I triple checked the math to make sure this pattern works and the increases/decreases are placed as symmetrically as possible around the mitten.

CO 36 sts

The cuff
1-23. k2, p2 around

Shape thumb gusset
24. kfb twice, (p3, k3) 5 times, p3, k1 (38 sts)
25-27.
 k4, (p3, k3) 5 times, p3, k1
28. p1, k6, (p3, k3) 5 times, p1
29. p1, k3, m1p, (k3, p3) 5 times, k3, p1, m1p (40 sts)
30. 
p1, k3, p1, (k3, p3) 5 times, k3, p2
31. k3, p1, m1p, p1, (k3, p3) 5 times, k3, p1, m1p, p1 (42 sts)
32-34.
(p3, k3) 7 times
35. p3, k2, m1, k1, (p3, k3) 5 times, p3, k2, m1, k1 (44 sts)
36-39.
k3, p4, (k3, p3) 5 times, k3, p4
40. Place 7 sts on a stitch holder. (p3, k3) 6 times, then add last st to holder. (36 sts remain for working mitten body) 

Knit body of mitten and reduce for fingertips
41-43. (p3, k3) 6 times
44-46. (k3, p3) 6 times
47-49. (p3, k3) 6 times
50-55. Repeat rows 44 through 49 once again.
56-58. Repeat rows 44-46.
59. (k2, k2tog, p2) 6 times (30 sts)
60. (p3, k2) 6 times
61. (p1, p2tog, k2) 6 times (24 sts)
62. 
(p2, k2) 6 times
63. (p2, k2tog) 6 times (18 sts)
64. (p2, k1) 6 times
65. (p2tog, k1) 6 times (12 sts)

Break yarn and draw tail through. Weave in tail to finish.

Knit the thumb
Pick up 8 sts from holder and pick up 7 additional sts. (15 sts)
1-4. 
(k3, p3) twice, k3
5-8. (p3, k3) twice, p3
9-12. Repeat rows 1-4.
13. (p1, p2tog, k1, k2tog) twice, p1, p2tog (10 sts)
14. (p2, k2) twice, p2
15. (p2tog, k2tog) twice, p2tog (5 sts) 

Break yarn and draw tail through. Weave in all ends to finish.

Vintage Checked Mittens at HandsOccupied.com

Filed Under: Free Patterns, Inspiration, Knitting, Knitting & Crochet Tagged With: free pattern, knitting pattern, mittens, mittens pattern, vintage knitting pattern, vintage patterns

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. She specializes in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macramé, and her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now!

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Comments

  1. Judy

    January 19, 2015 at 9:49 am

    These are so cute! Thank you for sharing your instructions. I particularly like the continued pattern on the thumbs. Isn’t the heritage of knitting wonderful?! Might be a bit snug for my medium hands so will use worsted weight yarn to up the gauge. Thanks again. Judy

    Reply

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  1. Hello, Friday! Link Roundup | Hello Little Home says:
    January 23, 2015 at 12:28 pm

    […] knitters! These Vintage Checked Mittens from Hands Occupied are adorable, and you’ll love the sweet story behind […]

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi, an author, yarn craft designer and content creator specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. My work unapologetically features primary colors and vintage-meets-modern style. My first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is now available!

Professionally I’m most known for: advanced intarsia knitting design & modern latch hook design.

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A new YouTube tutorial is live today covering how A new YouTube tutorial is live today covering how to knit the Little Butterfly Stitch (aka Bowknot Stitch). It adds so much cute character to simple stockinette. Only a little funky to knit, and it packs a huge visual punch! 🦋 
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Find the video & written stitch pattern on the blog and YouTube, links are in bio. 
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#kpambassadorsfeb21 #sponsored
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Yarn: @kelbournewoolens Germantown in Baby Blue via @knit_picks. Needles: Prism Interchangeables, also from Knit Picks. 
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Pictured: a light blue swatch of Little Butterfly Stitch knitting on a pink background. A skein of yarn and a few stitches of knitting are nearby.
“You’re telling me words can be pronounced in “You’re telling me words can be pronounced in different ways and mean the same things?!” 👀 Posting this here, just to make it clear: when anyone says skayne, skeen, or skyne, it can be safely assumed we’re talking about a bundle o’ yarn,  a SKEIN. It’s not necessary to shame someone for using a word that is known to have MULTIPLE common pronunciations. 🧶
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Can you plz comment sharing how you say SKEIN and where you learned it? The OED happens to say SKAYNE, but it’s not a personal attack if someone says SKEEN and you say SKYNE or even Saskatoon. I’m legitimately curious. We don’t all knit or crochet the same way, and craft evolves a bit like language - it is passed on. There is so much value in having conversations about & embracing these variations! ✌🏻
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Pictured: A blond woman holds a skein of mustard yellow yarn up to her head like a phone, looking shocked. She’s wearing glasses & a knit sweater. 
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#handsoccupied #heidigustad #skein #yarn #yarncraft #knit #crochet #yarnaddict #knitincolor #soldotnacrop #language #englishisweird #oed #oxfordenglishdictionary
Sometimes my weekend projects involve hair rather Sometimes my weekend projects involve hair rather than yarn. Here’s the latest mediocre-but-improving result of my slow quest to learn to set vintage inspired curls. 💇🏼‍♀️ I’m hoping to be able to wash my hair less using a regular vintage set, but we’ll see if it ends up being practical. 😆 Hair frustrates me so much more than crafts! 
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Do you also style your hair using vintage methods? If you have any tips for vintage hair styling or good resources to share, please do!
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Pictured: A medium sized, brown, senior dog asleep on a green bed. For some reason a donut ball of navy wool yarn sits on his head.
The first stitch tutorial of the new year is live The first stitch tutorial of the new year is live on YouTube! Diamond Brocade is a great knit+purl only stitch for beginners or anyone wanting a classic look for their knitting project. Find the video with a written stitch pattern on the blog or head directly to the video on YouTube. Both are linked in bio. ✌🏻 
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