About this design
I’ve always had a secret yearning to incorporate some vintage chic in my wardrobe, but sadly I have never been able to make this style work for me. Until now! These practical little fingerless mittens are a snap to knit with lots of simple stocking stitch and garter stitch, but what gives them a vintage chic feel is the delightfully frivolous Estonian Shell Stitch lined cuffs.

I discovered Estonian Shell Stitch in Margaret Radcliffe’s Essential Guide to Colour Knitting Techniques and what a delightful discovery it was. This stitch spoke to me of a gracious, gentler era where women’s clothing included little delicate details and hidden elements of luxury. In my modern reinterpretation I’ve tried to retain that little bit of elegance and paired it with a practical everyday accessory.

These mitts are named for the Australian Women’s Soccer Team, the Matildas, because I test knitted the pattern while I watched several of the games played by the team during the 2016 Rio Olympics. The name The Matildas is a reference to a famous Australian bush ballad, Waltzing Matilda, the lyrics of which were written by Banjo Paterson. There is a lot of Australian colonial history tied up in this song. Check out this link to learn more.

Size
Women’s small, medium and large. Larger sizes are shown in brackets. Finished hand circumference is 18 (19, 20.5) cm/7 (7 ½, 8) in.

Tension
23 st x 30 rows over 10 cm/4 inches in stocking/stockinette stitch, knitted in the round using 3.75 mm (US size 5) circular or double pointed needles. A reasonable match for tension is important for this pattern in order to ensure a good fit. Please move up or down a needle size and swatch one more time if your gauge does not match.

Yarn
This pattern is a great stash buster project! Main Colour--Approximately 50g of any double knit/8 ply yarn that knits to match the required tension gauge (equivalent to 96 metres/105 yards). Contrast Colour--Approximately 20g any double knit/8 ply yarn that knits to match the required tension gauge (equivalent to 39 metres/42.5 yards).

The sample Matildas’ Mitts have been knitted with Cleckheaton Country 8 ply, Naturals 8 ply and Merino Marles 8 ply in a variety of shades.

Needles
3.75 mm (US size 5) circular or double pointed needles.
3.5 mm (US size 4) circular or double pointed needles.

Notions
Tapestry/darning needle.
Stitch marker.
Waste yarn for provisional bind off for the thumb gusset.

The Pattern
This pattern includes written instructions as well as links to video tutorials for most of the techniques used in the design. The current version is 1.2.

Questions?
Please send all questions to capitalKNITS@icloud.com.

Please note that the price for this pattern includes 10% Australian Goods and Services Tax (GST).