six pairs

And his red mittens were on a string that went up the sleeves of his coat and across the back of his neck. That was so he couldn't lose them. -Farmer Boy, Chapter 1, "School Days"

Mittens are mentioned in all eight original "Little House" books; they are often given and received as Christmas gifts. Both Laura Ingalls and Almanzo Wilder are said to wear red wool mittens connected by a string so they wouldn't get lost.

If you want "Little House" mittens to decorate your tree, you can have more than just the red wool ones...

Jack Frost is said to wear white mittens. Ma and Aunt Eliza knit mittens in squares of red and white (entrelac?) for Pa and Uncle Peter. Mother Wilder knits mittens for Almanzo using a "fancy stitch" on the cuff. Mary gets a blue pair one Christmas, and Laura gets a red pair. Then Laura and Mary knit "Fourth of July" mittens for Carrie. Lots and lots of mittens are mentioned, but Laura Ingalls Wilder doesn't describe any but these and red ones. Both children and adults wear mittens in the "Little House" books.

The little 3-inch mittens pictured above are knitted back and forth on size 3 double-pointed needles using a sport weight wool yarn. I used 4 needles so I could leave yarn on one pair of needles while knitting the thumb with the other pair. I crocheted the thumb seam because it was faster. And I didn't weave in any ends; they were brought to the inside of the mitten, tied off and cut, leaving a short tail.

It took me way too long to find this pattern just now, so I'm including it here for my own reference. It might not make sense unless you're a mitten knitter already; sorry.

CUFF: Cast on 23 stitches with size 3 needles.
Row 1: Purl 1, Knit 1 across
Row 2: Knit 1, Purl 1 across
Repeat these two rows four more times, then do Row 1 again.

BODY: Knit across row, increasing 5 stitches evenly. = 28 sts
( ) Purl
( ) Knit 13, place marker, increase twice, place marker (the thumb will be between these markers), Knit 13. = 30 sts
( ) Purl
( ) Knit, increasing at first stitch after marker and before last stitch before marker. = 32 sts
( ) Purl
( ) Knit, increase at beginning and end of markers. = 34 sts
( ) Purl

THUMB: Knit to marker, leave stitches on needle, add st to left needle, knit to last stitch before marker, add stitch, leave remaining stitches on needle. = 10 sts on middle needle. Now work on thumb only.
( ) Purl ( ) Knit ( ) Purl ( ) Knit ( ) Purl
( ) Knit 2 tog, pull all stitches through with crochet hook and crochet thumb seam with right sides in.

HAND: Drop crochet loop and pull through space at base of thumb to count as picked up stitch which is put on left needle, knit across thumb, pick up stitch on left side of thumb, knit across rest of hand. = 28 sts
( ) Purl ( ) Knit ( ) Purl ( ) Knit ( ) Purl
( ) Knit ( ) Purl ( ) Knit ( ) Purl, placing marker after stitch 14

SHAPING:
( ) K 2, sl 1 as if to knit, K 1, PSSO, knit to within 3 sts of marker, K 2 tog, K 2, sl 1 as if to knit, K 1, PSSA, knit across to last 4, K 2 tog. = 24 sts
( ) Purl
( ) Knit shaping row = 20 sts
( ) Purl
( ) Knit 2 tog across row = 10 sts
Use crochet hook to pull stitches through, and pull tightly, closing top. With right sides together, crochet mitten from tip to cuff. Tie off and cut yarn. Turn mitten right side out, leave extra yarn inside.

Since these are decorative mittens - and not worn - I take a lot of shortcuts I wouldn't take when knitting mittens to be worn. I normally knit mittens in the round, but the tiny mitten is easier to knit flat, and seam the thumb and outside edge. I crochet the seam simply because I can do them in a hurry and not have to cut / join yarn.

For FOURTH OF JULY mittens, I cast on in red and do Rows 1 and 2 in red. Switch to blue, but don't cut the red yarn, and do two rows in blue. Switch back to red, but don't cut the blue yarn this time, and do two more rows in red. Do another blue stripe and another red stripe, so the cuff is RED / BLUE / RED / BLUE / RED. Switch to white for the body and thumb of the mitten.
- posted by pioneergirl at 10:12 PM