I love stranded colorwork, and I love making the most of my yarn stash. The Undergraduate Mittens pattern is based on a graphic design on a thank you note I received, of all things! It’s meant to pair with the Undergraduate Hat, where the main color is switched. Doing so means you’ll get a coordinating accessories set from just two skeins of fingering yarn, so you’ll get the most bang for your buck.

What testers had to say:

• “The chart was intuitive enough and I did not need to constantly refer to it, which was nice.”
• “I love colorwork with short floats!”
• “Liked that the short carries makes the fabric stretchy.”
• “Very nice mitten. I’ll look forward to having these in the cooler fall months!”

Skills:
Knitting in the round, stranded colorwork (provided as both written and charted instructions), M1L and M1R increases, K2tog and SSK decreases.

For a tutorial video on knitting stranded colorwork, visit the Kino Knits YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/ovQCTmc-PP0.

Color dominance is important in this pattern. The MC should be dominant, meaning it should be carried underneath the CC yarn on the wrong side of the work. For an excellent explanation of color dominance, see https://ysolda.com/blogs/journal/colour-dominance.

Yarn:
Two colors high-contrast fingering-weight yarn.
Sample shown in size 3 in Honeycomb Hills Hand-dyed Yarn Sock (75% superwash merino/25% nylon; 462 yards/422 m per 3.5 oz/100 g). Colorways: Limelight (Main Color - MC) and Reali-teal (Contrast Color - CC).

Mitten Actual Sizes and Yardage (includes 15% buffer):

(Stranded colorwork does not have much stretch. For more fitted mittens with more dexterity, choose a size 0-1”/0-2.5 cm smaller than your actual hand circumference (circ). For roomier mittens that will trap more warm air, choose a size 0.5-1.5”/1.5-4 cm larger than your actual hand circ.)

(Size - Mitten Circumference - Cuff Length (adjustable) - Hand Length - Thumb Gusset Length - Thumb Length (adjustable) - MC Yarn Needed - CC Yarn Needed)

• Size 1 - 5”/12.5 cm - 1.75”/4.5 cm - 4.75”/12 cm - 2”/5 cm - 1.75”/4.5 cm - 75 yds/69 m - 45 yds/41 m

• Size 2 - 6”/15 cm - 2.25”/5.5 cm - 5.75”/14.5 cm - 2.5”/6.5 cm - 1.75”/4.5 cm - 105 yds/96 m - 65 yds/59 m

• Size 3 - 6.75”/17 cm - 2.5”/6.5 cm - 6.75”/17 cm - 2.5”/6.5 cm - 2.25”/5.5 cm - 135 yds/123 m - 90 yds/82 m

• Size 4 - 7.5”/19 cm - 2.75”/7 cm - 8”/20.5 cm - 2.75”/7 cm - 2.5”/6.5 cm - 175 yds/160 m - 120 yds/110 m

• Size 5 - 8.5”/21.5 cm - 3”/7.5 cm - 9”/23 cm - 3.25”/8.5 cm - 2.75”/7 cm - 220 yds/201 m - 150 yds/137 m

• Size 6 - 9.25”/23.5 cm - 3.25”/8.5 cm - 10”/25.5 cm - 3.5”/9 cm - 3”/7.5 cm - 265 yds/242 m - 190 yds/174 m

Sample shown in size 3.

Gauge:
38 stitches and 38 rounds per 4”/10 cm in colorwork pattern in the round, blocked.

Tools:

• 2 stitch markers
• Stitch holder or waste yarn to hold thumb stitches
• Tapestry needle
• Scissors
• Additional stitch markers may be helpful to separate repeats.

Needles:
US 2 (2.75 mm) needles for knitting in the round, or size needed to get gauge

Social Media:
Please post your mittens with the hashtags #UndergraduateMittens and #kinoknits on social media. Please also tag @kinoknits.

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