Random Spring Mitts pattern

RANDOM SPRING MITTS by Laura Mayer

My inspiration for Random Spring Mitts comes from a number of sources. First and foremost is Catherine G. Hall’s Random Lace “pattern-recipe.” http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/random-lace. Her instructions are easy to follow, even for someone as lace-challenged as I am. (Feather and Fan is about the limit of my patterned lace-knitting skills.) I like being able to choose any stitches I want, but appreciate keeping the same (small) number of stitches per row, for simplicity’s sake.

The first time I made the Random Spring Mitts was the result of a perfect storm of leftover Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool yarn from one friend’s project, another friend suffering through a lingering winter with cold hands, and my desire to knit her something warming. I also wanted something that would be delicate enough to anticipate the coming spring season. I experimented and came up with a pair of mitts that she loved and wore almost every day for months. (Though I conceived of them as “Spring” mitts, she told me that were among the first pieces of knitting she began to wear when the season turned cool the next autumn.)

The organic flow of the lace’s random increases and decreases makes me think of flora in seasonal transition: early spring, when bare branches and vines begin to take on new shapes with buds and leaves, and autumn, when the architecture of those same vines and branches is revealed as leaves begin to fall. These transitional mitts are an attempt to recreate those shapes using random stitches. I love the rustic yet refined look of Silky Wool, and I think that its tweedy blend of fibers in both muted and saturated colors makes it an excellent yarn for multiple seasons.
These short mitts are an excellent project to practice the random lace technique and to make a multi-season accessory, whether for cool fall weather, chilly interiors in winter, or when waiting for spring to arrive! Almost everyone who tries them on says, “Oh, they feel good.”

SIZE

S/M and M/L

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

Width: 3 inches[3.5 inches] 

Length: 6 inches[6.5 inches]

MATERIALS

Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool [45% Wool, 35% Silk, 20% Nylon; 192yd/176m per 50g skein]; color: 83 green

Size US 3/3.25mm double-point needles.

Important note on needle size and type (double points or circulars.): I am a very loose knitter. My test knitter got gauge with size 4 needles.

Also, I think that it is much easier to deal with the stitches 12 or 14 at a time on double point needles.  If you use the magic loop method or two circulars, I would suggest using stitch markers every 12 [14] stitches so as to easily keep count of your stitches.

Safety pin or split ring marker(s)

Tapestry needle

GAUGE

24 sts = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

PATTERN NOTES

To make random lace, you can use whatever increase and decrease stitches you like, as long as you keep the number of stitches the same (or approximately the same) per round.  The mitts will not match each other exactly, but each will have a unique, organic look.  You work the lace by balancing the number of increases and decreases on any given row. The stitches I used most often were Knit (K), Yarn Over (YO), Knit two together (K2tog), and Slip, slip, knit (SSK).  You may also use other increases or decreases.

Make One (M1) increases can be used in place of yarnovers, which, as they do not create a lace “hole”, make for a slightly denser look to the lace. 

The more stitch variation you have, the more interesting your knitting will look, and all without having to keep track of a pattern!  Though the original random lace technique calls for a rest (knit) row between rounds of lace, I worked lace every round.  Also, I preferred my fabric not to have purl bumps on the right side, so with the exception of the thumb opening “wrong side” rows, I used no purl stitches.

I see these mitts as a starting place for the Random Lace technique. The cuff and top edge of the mitt could be worked in rib for a closer fit, and beads could be added (randomly, of course!).

If you accidentally drop stitches, picking them up is easy, as you do not need to follow a pattern. Just bring the stitch up through the previous rows, following the path of least resistance.

Random lace technique

Each round for the S/M size is 36 stitches. So, using 12 stitches per needle, the first round could be as follows:

Needle 1: Knit 3, Yarn Over, Knit 2, Slip, slip, Knit, Yarn Over, Knit 4 (12 stitches)

Needle 2: K2tog, K1, YO, K4, YO, SSK, K3 (12 stitches)

Needle 3: K1, YO,  K2tog, SSK, YO, K5, K2tog, K1 (12 stitches)

Round 2 and all following rounds:  Increase and decrease as you please, keeping 36 stitches per round.

PATTERN

Loosely cast on 36[42] stitches on size 3 needles, and join for knitting in the round. Place a stitch marker at the beginning of the round.  Arrange the stitches so that there are 12 per needle.

Cuff:

Knit one row

Purl one row

Knit one row

Purl one row

Hand:

Begin working random lace, keeping approximately 12 [14] stitches per needle, or a total of 36[42] stitches per round. I was fairly compulsive about keeping the same number of stitches per needle, but it doesn’t really matter if you have rows that have 10 [12] stitches on needle one, 14 [16]stitches on needle two and 12 [14] stitches on needle three, as long as you keep 36 [42] stitches per round.

Continue working random lace until your knitting measures 3.5 [4] inches from cast on edge.

Thumb opening:

This 8-row[10-row] section will be worked back and forth, not in the round, which means that you turn the work after completing each row. This means that your right side rows will be knit, and your wrong side rows will be purled. I found that my purl rows were less complex than my knit rows, with the stitches consisting mostly of ”purl”, “yarn back”, and “purl two together” stitches.  Slipping the first stitch of every row of these 8[10] rows makes a neater edge for the thumb opening.

Row 1: Knit random lace for 36[42] stitches. Turn work.

Row 2:  [ex.] Needle 1: Purl 4, purl 2 together, yarn back, purl 3, purl 2 together, purl 2.  (12 stitches)  Needle 2 and needle 3, purl, increasing and decreasing as desired. (12 stitches per needle.) Turn work.

Rows 3, 5, and 7: Knit random lace

Rows 4, 6, and 8: Purl random lace.

[size M/L only: row 9, knit random lace; row 10, purl random lace.]

After the 8[10] rows, rejoin to work in the round.

Top of mitt:

Continue random lace for 10[12] more rounds.

To finish:

Knit one row.

Purl one row.

Knit one row.

Purl one row.

Bind off loosely in pattern.  Weave in ends and block gently.

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

After being shown how to knit twice, once as a child, and once in her twenties, Laura Mayer finally learned how to knit in 2004. She has hardly put down the needles since. She lives on the beautiful Oregon coast with her partner, cat, and dog.

Copyright 2012 Laura Mayer