Get both Golden Oak patterns, both hat and mittens, for just $6.00! No coupon code is needed. This discount is retroactive, so if you’ve already purchased one pattern you will still receive the discount if you purchase the other! (Sorry, this will only work with purchase, not if the hat pattern was downloaded when it was free.)

For most of us, the coming of autumn signals many changes – not just the change of season, but the return from our summer holidays, preparing the kids to go back to school, and so on. For knitters, particularly in the northern hemisphere, autumn is also a time of excitement and renewal. We look forward to those first crisp fall days with happy anticipation, dreaming and planning new knitting projects. We envision ourselves happily knitting away in snug warmth, cup of tea at our side, while we watch the bright leaves fall outside our windows. It’s a wonderful feeling to know we have months ahead with less to do outdoors, and plenty of time to enjoy our knitting.

I live in the desert Southwest where summers are longer. At the beginning of September, truly fall-like weather may still be weeks away for us, but I still feel that happy thrill of anticipation at the beginning of “knitting season.” Despite the warmer weather, it’s still possible to feel the changing of seasons – usually there’s a day sometime in late July or early August when I notice a subtle change - the air feels a little cooler, or the light seems different. I think of this as a “fall moment” - for me it’s the signal that autumn is on the way, and my mind immediately turns to knitting, and the excitement of planning all those lovely winter projects.

Several species of oak trees grow in my area, and as other deciduous trees lose their leaves they become more prominent in the landscape (unlike most deciduous trees, most oak species do not drop their leaves until spring). I love their spreading forms and dark grey-green, waxy leaves. Because of their impressive growth, spreading habit and longevity, oaks have long been revered by many cultures as symbols of strength, wisdom, endurance and nobility. I think their beautiful leaf forms and acorns are a wonderful symbol of autumn as well, and I designed these mittens to celebrate the ethereal beginning of the season.

Golden Oak Mittens are knitted in worsted weight yarn in the round. They are tightly knitted to be extra warm and windproof. Oak leaves and acorns adorn the back of the hand, with a few stray acorns on the palm and thumb. They feature a simple peasant thumb, which is placed with waste yarn and the live stitches picked up later (instructions given). Colorwork for mittens and thumbs is charted. Instructions are given for working on double point needles, but you could adapt the pattern for magic loop as well. These mittens have an 8” circumference and are sized for an average woman, but size can be adjusted by gauge and/or yarn weight to fit a larger or smaller hand.

Skills required:
• Long tail or other elastic cast on
• Knit and purl stitches
• Knitting small circumferences in the round
• Stranded color stockinette knitting
• Simple decreases (K2tog and SSK)
• Kitchener stitch (optional)
• Simple increase of your choice, such as M1L, M1R, or lifted increase.

Yarn requirements:

Worsted weight yarn suitable for stranding in two colors. I used Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted (worsted weight, 100% wool, 100g/245 yds):

• MC – N25 Enchanted Forest – 125 yds
• CC – 148 Autumn Leaves – 95 yds

Just a note - these mittens feature Latvian and Norwegian construction techniques, but the design is purely contemporary. :)