X & O Mitts
These charming Fair Isle mitts are a delightful and quick knit project, utilizing just four shades of Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift 4ply wool yarn. Perfect for knitters who are comfortable with stranded colorwork, this pattern offers a fun challenge while allowing you to create beautiful hand-wear. The mitts are shown in an elegant combination of shades: Shaela, Black, Lomond, and Eesit.
Constructed from the bottom up in the round, these mitts feature well-placed thumb gussets for comfort and fit. Adorned with eye-catching X & O motifs on the top of the hand, the design is further enhanced by an intuitive one-by-one filler stitch on the palm side. The pattern includes detailed charts for both left and right mitts, ensuring that you can easily follow along as you knit.
Sizing: Designed to fit an average woman’s hand measuring 7-7.5” (18-19cm), these mitts provide a snug yet comfortable fit for daily wear.
Skills/Techniques: This pattern is suitable for knitters looking to improve their skills and learn new techniques, including stranded colorwork, knitting comfortably in the round, reading charts, managing stitch numbers (especially for the thumb gusset), as well as performing increases and decreases. Additional techniques include casting on in the middle of a round and understanding yarn dominance to achieve a polished finish.
Needles: For this project, you'll need an array of needle sizes ranging from 2.5mm, 2.75mm, 3mm to 3.25mm, which can be either circulars or double-pointed needles. If you don't have direct equivalents in the US system, you can use US sizes 2 & 3. However, using a range of needle sizes as specified provides greater control over the fit and overall appearance of your finished mitts.
Whether you’re looking to keep your hands warm during chilly weather or simply want to create a charming accessory, these Fair Isle mitts are an excellent addition to your knitting repertoire. Perfect for gifting or personal use, dive into this pattern and experience the joy of crafting with quality wool yarn!
