Northman Mittens

The Northman Mittens are the mittens I have wanted to make ever since I started learning how to knit in 2014. They were one of my very first "favorites" on Ravelry. I waited a long time to start them. It seemed like it would be too hard to make them (what with the braiding and all of the patterning).  I finally started them last year. They turned out to be a quicker knit than I thought, because they are made up in worsted weight yarn.

 

 

However, it took me over a year to finish them! First, I had baby brain. Then, it got warm here. Finally, I picked up the mittens again, but then I ran out of yarn. Drats! It took me so long to finish these, that my tension changed (the top part of the left mitten), despite the fact that I was working with the same yarn and the same needles.  I was so happy to be finished, but I hated the mittens! Mine looked like oven mitts. Grrrr.

 

 

I had loved the Northman Mittens so long though, that I felt like I couldn't toss them in my Goodwill pile. Trying to salvage them, I felted them. I was so happy this morning when I pulled them out of the laundry! Perfection! This is exactly what I was hoping for way back in 2014. I love love love these mittens - they no longer look like giant floppy mitts - they have a great, thick fabric and they look cute to boot. The felting really helped hide the tension problems.

 

Want to make your own? Here are my notes:

• Materials. Worsted weight yarn. I used Knitpicks Wool of the Andes Worsted (I needed two balls of the main color - just FYI as that really derailed my project). I also used size 3 circular needles.
• Overall impression of the pattern. This is a great pattern! David Schulz gives color charts for both dark backgrounds and light backgrounds. This is immensely helpful, so I think it's worth it to purchase the pattern. Plus, he explains how to knit a lining. I've been looking everywhere for this information. So, I think this is an excellent bonus for this pattern.
• Special skills. The hardest part about these mittens (for me) was the braiding. This video is pretty helpful.
• Felting. This was my first time trying to purposefully felt mittens (I also felted Mark's toddler mittens at the same time). I wasn't sure it would work, but I figured it was worth winging it. I just threw the mittens in the wash with a load of laundry. We have a front loader. I've read that for front-loading machines you should felt things by themselves in their own loads. However, I didn't feel like wasting the water. Luckily, it turned out great! I think the mittens probably shrunk about 1 inch in length.
• Other tips. Don't take a year to make these like I did. Haha!

Hope you guys get a chance to make these too! Want to try other types of mittens? Mittens are my favorite thing to make! I have herringbone mittens, kitten mittens, druid mittens, and more (see the label tab on this site).

Want to see more of my current projects? I'm on instagram (SaltyCrafter) and on ravelry (bsl19).

~SaltyCrafts