Making Mittens Without a Pattern

Have you ever wanted to make a pair of mittens without using a pattern? Maybe you have a pattern for a hat but you wish you could make a matching pair of mittens. Or perhaps you have the perfect yarn for a pair of mittens but can’t find the right pattern for the yarn weight that you want to use. Whatever the reason, this video will teach you how to make a simple half-double crochet pair of mittens with yarn of any weight! You’ll need a couple skeins of yarn and any hook size that will achieve a fairly dense fabric, and a few stitch markers (one of these markers must be different from the others). For reference, Brenda is using a G hook (4.0mm) and a heavy worsted weight (or aran weight) wool yarn.

Logged in members can download the free worksheet to keep track of the stitches used to create the first mitten as it is made. This record will be very helpful in creating the second, matching mitten.

Brenda begins by explaining that you do not need to make a gauge swatch for this project, but to begin stitching and monitor the pieces as they are being made to see if the resulting fabric is dense enough to keep the cold winds out. She chains enough stitches for the length of the cuff, and then works back and forth in HDC through the back loop to create a rectangular piece for the ribbed cuff. Once the cuff is long enough to reach around the wrist, the edges of the cuff are slip stitched together to form a tube.

After the ribbed tube has been made, Brenda shows us how to begin working in the round along the top opening of the tube. She works HDC in continuous rounds without joining and uses a stitch marker to help keep track of the beginning of the round. As Brenda continues working in the round, Brenda demonstrates how to create shaping for the thumb gusset by making some planned increases. When the gusset is tall enough to accommodate the thumb, Brenda shows us how to skip stitches to create the thumb. The number of stitches skipped depends on the number of stitches that were added when the gusset was being shaped. After dividing for the thumb, several rounds are worked for the length of the hand. Once the mittens reach your pinky finger, it is time to start shaping the top of the mitten. This is done by making 4 decreases per round. The decreases should be fairly evenly spread out, avoiding placing a decrease directly above a decrease from the previous round.

After shaping top of mitten with decreases, the middle finger should barely be seen sticking out of the top of mitten. Work one final round evenly; with one stitch worked into each stitch around. After fastening off, Brenda shows us how to close the top of the mitten. The last step that Brenda demonstrates is how to create the thumb; where to pick up all the stitches and also how long to work the thumb before closing up the top.

Brenda ends this creative lesson with some advice on wet-blocking your project.

Please tell us about the mittens you will be making in the comments box below!