. . . KAL Latvian Mittens. . .Schoolhouse Press Knit Alongs
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Fringed Sun Latvian Mittens from Vidzeme(with Lizbeth Upitis, author of Latvian Mittens pictured at left)© Schoolhouse Press and Lizbeth Upitis, 2008*
Our Knit Along will focus on the knitting of a traditional pair of Latvian Mittens (Latvian Mitten from Vidzeme, Fringed with Braid), as pictured in Latvian Mittens: Traditional Designs and Techniques by Lizbeth Upitis and the topic of Spring/Summer 08 Vogue article by Meg Swansen and Lizbeth Upitis. Instructions for the mitten, along with technical instruction and photos will be posted here. Traditional Finnish Satakieli wool for the mittens can be purchased by clicking the link for the Fringed Sun Mitten kit; double pointed needles, US size 0 are needed as well. Or, if you are not an intermediate/advanced knitter and wish to knit along as practice before you purchase a kit, use whatever wool is in your stash which will yield a fine gauge (see gauge specifics below). If you are not purchasing the kit, you'll need about 3.5 oz. of a main color (360 yards), and 2 oz (180 yds) each of 5 additional colors. Materials: Fringed Sun Mitten Kit, 1 set of 5 dp needles, size 0/2mm; click product name to go to order page. Or if you wish to order all full skeins go to Satakieli page. (Kit includes 1 skein navy blue 696 (A), 1/2 skeins of each coordinating color including white 001 (B), light blue 631 (C), violet 534 (D), turquoise 770 (E) bright green 873 (F).) Gauge: 19 stitches/20 rounds per 2 inches over colored pattern. Size: Adult: Small (Medium, Large, X-Large) for 7 (8, 9, 10)” palm circumference. To fit between these sizes, decrease needle size to 00/1.75mm Knit Along Schedule: (completed) May 2 – gauge talk, cast on and fringe May 3 – braid over fringe and chart, plus instructions when to stop for the thumb hole May 9 – thumb hole, cast on and knit to length discussion May 12 – top decreases, pick up and knit thumb, decrease thumb May 14– left mitten and finishing May 2, 2008 Session I: Gauge, Cast on and Fringe Three simple sentences comprise the entire first session’s instructions for these Latvian mittens. No sweat, right? Well, sort of… The bane and the beauty of Latvian mittens coexist as do Yang and Yin. The most challenging techniques of most mittens are generally within the first few rounds of knitting. Add to that the fact that you are trying to control five rebellious needles, who seem to be dancing to “Slip Sliding Away”, and you may want to chuck yarn, needles, instructions, Lizbeth and computer into the corner… of the garage or basement. But these very infuriating techniques are actually small, low barriers – like the threshold to a Chinese home. They appear at the beginning of this knitting engagement, when your energy and interest are generally strongest. By the time you knit the palm, you are in a comfortable rhythm that is briefly interrupted by the thumb trick, then slides by into decreases for a swift and comfortable finish. Please take a deep breath. Exhale fully, Colors:Navy Blue(A), White (B), Light Blue (C), Violet (D),Turquoise (E) Bright Green (F) RIGHT MITTEN That’s it! Detailed instructions for the cast on and fringe follow. At the conclusion of this session, you have three loops of yarn around the needle at each stitch. Remember to breathe while you work the fringe and take a walk or pat yourself on the back when you are done with the first fringe round. I’ll see you here tomorrow! Lizbeth LATVIAN CAST-ON Latvians generally use what is called “long-tailed cast-on”, except with two different yarns of two different colors. One is an accent color for a border and the second is the color of the first round. Hold two needles together in your right hand. (Two needles give an easier tensioned cast-on stitch.) With both yarns, form a slip-knot to keep them on the needles, leaving 6-8” tails (Fig.1-Cast On) and tighten (Fig.2-Cast On) Do not count slip-knot as a stitch. Border-colored yarn *(dark) wraps back to front around thumb; stitch yarn (light) wraps front to back around left index finger. (Fig. 3) Needles travel under front (dark, thumb) yarn, over, behind and under back (light, index finger) yarn. Needles then pass through the opening made in the front (dark, border) yarn. (Fig. 4) Release thumb yarn and tension stitch on needles while reinserting thumb into front (dark, border) yarn as for Fig. 5-Cast On.*
Repeat between *s for number of stitches necessary. Do not count slip stitch at the beginning. FRINGE Fringe is formed looking at the inside of mitten, knitting back on the stitches just worked. Turn your work 180 degrees to look at the inside.
May 3, 2008 Session II: Braid Over Fringe and chart, plus instructions when to stop for the thumb hole Hello mitten knitters, Hope you completed the first round of fringe, slept well and now have time and a place to sit quietly for finishing the fringe, the braid and to begin knitting from the chart. There are now 240-288 loops of yarn for the fringe around your needles. You will work off each 3 strands of fringe as if they are a single stitch AND at the same time, work the first round of braid. So your knitting will combine Fig.3-Fringe (below left) with Fig.1-Braid (below right).
Fringe Round 2 is Braid Round 1. Turn mitten back to look at the outside of mitten. Before beginning the braid, pull out a couple of yards of both yarns and gently push the twist from the first round away from your knitting. BRAID Work first and second rounds of braid with Colors A and C. In the first braid round, work all three loops of yarn over needle as if they are a single stitch. Triple strands of yarn from the fringe show between the braid rows upon completion of the second round of fringe. Round 1 Bring both yarns forward, purl 1 A, * drop A and bring C over it to purl 1 C, drop C and bring A over C to purl 1 A*, repeat between *s for round. Keep yarns alternating and always bring the next yarn to purl over the last stitch. The two strands twist when working Round 1. Round 2 Keep both yarns forward, *bring A under C and purl 1 A, lift A to bring C under A to purl 1 C*, repeat for the round. The last stitch of this round releases the last twist from Round 1.
CUFF PATTERN The Latvian Mitten Chart begins here, on round 5. (Chart PDF with color code is below.) Treat yourself to a cup of tea. You have my permission (and encouragement) to plop the mittens into a tote and take a walk or sit in the sun or before the TV from now on. The rest is a breeze – at least by comparison. Work pattern from chart until end of cuff pattern, round 31. Cut colors D, E and F, leaving 6” tails. Check gauge and size of mitten; if cuff is too large or small for palm, adjust needle size here. Fringe Trick: After several rounds or upon completion of mitten, insert the fifth needle through a group of stitches and pull down to secure and even the fringe. Enjoy your week or so of knitting - until you’re ready for the thumb hole, then come on back for the next visit. May 9, 2008 (Note: It's important to refresh your page each time you begin; you may also want to reprint your chart as there was a small correction and a new version has been posted.) Session III: Latvian Mittens - Thumb Hole Probably the most satisfying placement for the thumb hole is when the top of the cuff pattern (Round 30 on chart) is at the wrist line and the palm pattern is at the bottom knuckle of the thumb. Since we all have an intuitive awareness of the shape of the hand, the cuff line simply feels “right” when the wrist and cuff align. But this is your mitten. You are in charge. Put the thumb anywhere you please! There was a genre of mittens from the Kurzeme district of Latvia with thumbs leaping out of the cuff – as if playing hide-and-seek. (See photos 1e and 2c in the Latvian Mittens book.) Right Thumb Hole Using blunt sewing needle, transfer the same number of stitches as you just cast on from left needle to holding thread. The photos below show stitches cast on for the thumb hole, but on the left palm. On the “thumb needle”, there is one stitch knit before the cast on stitches and one left to be knit after. You always cast on the number of stitches on each needle, less two.
Be certain there is no twist in the cast-on stitches, then knit 1 stitch remaining from left needle .* Generally the distance from thumb hole to top decreases is a square, and since the gauge for these mittens is also nearly square, the number of rows knit is nearly the same as the number of stitches on two needles. Have fun with the palm of your first mitten. I suspect that the pattern is becoming comfortable to knit, and you are really enjoying this delightful, portable piece of art. I’ll catch you next week for the top decreases and knitting the thumb. Wishing you all warm hands and hearts, Lizbeth May 12, 2008 Session IV: Top Decreases and Thumb Congratulations! When you are ready to decrease at the top of your first mitten, you have already overcome any lingering fear of fine yarns, charts, five double-pointed needles or new techniques. You have lain down the cuff and palm patterns, row upon row, on the foundation of fringe and braid, straddled the hole for your thumb and finally fallen into a satisfying knitting rhythm in the palm. I hope you resisted the temptation to just keep knitting and actually stopped when your mitten was the proper length for its wearer. I have had to rip or knit back several rows because the knitting was so much fun that I forgot to look at the length. Top decreases Stitches from the previous round “fold” over each other with every decrease and two different colors knit together show a little “blip” of color. Therefore, begin your decrease round after a plain A round. Otherwise, in the round before decreases begin, work the second and third stitches of needles 1 and 3 and the last two stitches of needles 2 and 4 with color A. Needles 1 and 3: knit 1 in contrasting color of round (B or C); with A, SSK, knit 1, work remainder of needle in pattern of round.
Continue decreasing 1 stitch at both ends of each side (4 stitches per round) until too few stitches remain to knit comfortably with 5 needles. Transfer stitches so one needle holds mitten front stitches, one needle holds back stitches and third needle is working needle.
When 4 stitches remain on each side, cut the color no longer in use 6-8” from work and pass to inside of mitten. I frequently knit both mittens to this point and work both thumbs after completion of right and left mittens. But I confess that I have also left thumbless mittens sit in a basket for weeks at a time while I began an exciting, new pattern. So it is your choice. You may wish to work the right thumb now or wait until completion of the left mitten. Thumb
Keep pattern colors in the order of thumb front. Let 6-8” of yarns hang at beginning and work 2 rounds in pattern. Pattern on thumb back repeats the colors of the pattern on thumb front. Two patterns of the same color will stack up together on the back of the thumb.
Above Left : Palm and back of thumb Above Right: Palm and Front of Thumb Decrease thumb picked-up stitches: in third round, k2tog at beginning of first and third needle. In the fourth round, SSK the last 2 stitches of second and fourth needle. Continue in pattern on 32 (36, 40, 44) stitches until length to middle of thumb nail. Thumb decreases are worked as palm decreases, with a B (or C) stitch between A decrease stitches. Cut and pass yarn inside as for top of palm. Use yarn ends from beginning of thumb to reinforce corners of thumb. Turn mitten inside out and sew each yarn through back of work to secure. Congratulations! You thought you could and you did! The second mitten goes far more quickly to give a far more enjoyable, more flowing experience. See y’all back here in three days - for our final “formal” lesson. Warm hands and hearts to all, May 14, 2008 Session V: Left Mitten and Finishing LEFT MITTEN Mitten patterns should mirror each other as your hands. Look at palm of completed right mitten and begin at Start/Finish line to read pattern from left to right in order to find the location to begin pattern of left mitten. Work in pattern until location for thumb hole. “Mirroring” the designs is easy if you knit an even number of pattern repeats around a mitten. Then the motifs naturally are in the same location on both palm and back of both mittens. BUT, if you have an odd number of repeats, it is important to begin the left mitten so the patterns sit the same on the palms and backs of both mittens. The thumb location and top decreases will be in an opposite relationship to the pattern of the right mitten unless the Start/Finish line is shifted to correspond to our opposite and wonderful “opposable thumbs”. Left Thumb Hole The photos in Session III of casting on for the top of the thumb hole were taken when knitting the left mitten. Please refer to those photos for working the thumb hole for your left mitten. Continue in pattern and decrease as for right mitten. Pick up stitches for thumb, work and finish as right mitten. Finishing and blocking Here’s a photo of the nearly completed mittens, with right mitten blocked but left mitten unblocked.
You can see that the seemingly huge fringe wishes to roll up and seems out of control, but a quick dousing of steam, little nudges and tugs, then a finishing douse of steam and your masterpiece is perfectly tame and beautifully completed. Please accept my congratulations and appreciation for your work, your craft and your presence in this world. I have enjoyed this knit along greatly – almost as much as physically being in class together. Next week I resume some extended travels, but will check in regularly to answer questions and communicate. My travels will include a visit to Latvia to check out the possibility of another knitters’ tour to Latvia to visit with knitters and study mittens during the summer of 2009. If any of you are interested in hearing about that tour or other knitter travels I may organize, please send me your e-mail and I’ll let everyone know when a tour or event is planned. Thank you! Lizbeth Upitis P.S. Here’s a photo of my way of holding two yarns and working these mittens – shown from both directions.
This is only one possibility; there are nearly limitless ways to achieve beautiful color knitting. I thought I would see one technique among Latvians, but even their knitted mitten gems are knit with yarn carried only in the left, only in the right, carried in both hands, sometimes dropped with each color change and retrieved from the back, or changed with a sweet twist (almost like the braid, but on the inside throughout the mitten). We live in a wonderful world of limitless variations and possibilities. It makes me want to laugh and dance and sing. Hope to see you someday in my dancing travels and teachings. Namaste’ |
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(a closer look) 
