Caroline's Mini Mittens

Sometimes, mittens just aren't practical. For instance, mittens are completely useless in Indonesia, which is why I designed these mini mittens for my family's exchange student, Caroline, who leaves for Indonesia today after staying here for a year. These are meant to be a reminder of the place she left, but you can make them in cold places too. Use them as Christmas decorations - in fact, with less than 2 hours invested in the pair, you can afford to whip up a couple of pairs and give them as last minute presents.

Caroline’s Mini Mittens

Materials:
Knit Picks Palette in Bark (MC) and Red (CC)
4 US1 dpns
Yarn needle

This is just what I used on my mittens. Gauge absolutely doesn’t matter here. In fact, I didn’t even make a gauge swatch, so throw caution (or your gauge swatch) to the wind and just jump in. Use whatever leftover yarn you have. You’ll only need bits and pieces here. Fingering weight will work best for tiny mittens, but heavier yarn and bigger needles will only mean your Mini Mittens aren’t quite so mini.

Ribbing
CO 18 st in CC
Arrange with 6 stitches on each needle, and join for working in the round.
Row 1: Work 1 round k1, p1 rib.
Row 2: Change to MC, knit 1 round even.
Row 3-6: k1, p1 rib.
Row 7: Knit one round even, increasing 1 st at the end of each needle (3 sts inc, 7 sts on each needle).

Thumb Gusset
Row 8: K10, inc 1, k1, inc1, k10
Row 9: K one round even
Row 10: K10, inc 1, k3, inc 1, k10
Row 11: K even
Row 12: K10, inc 1, k5, inc 1, k10
Row 13: K even

Hand
K10, place next 7 sts on waste yarn, CO1 across gap, k10
Change to CC, k3 rounds.
Change to MC, k3 rounds.

Finger Shaping
*K5, k2tog*
K one round even
*K4, k2tog*
K one round even
*K3, k2tog*
K one round even
*K2tog*
Cut yarn leaving 6 inch tail, draw up remaining stitches

Thumb
Place held stitches on needles, pick up 2 stitches. (3 sts on each needle)
K 5 rounds
*K1, k2tog*
*k2tog*
Cut yarn, draw up remaining stitches

Finishing
Weave in loose ends except for CO tail. Tie the mittens together with the leftover cast on tail and hang jauntily from a handy corner.