#44 Reynir mittens

Reynir Mittens by Marianne Skatten

What Is Being Made

Reynir mittens are a pair of knitted mittens designed for intermediate knitters. These mittens are constructed in the round using double-pointed needles (dpns) and feature thoughtful shaping details including gussets for the thumbs, ensuring an excellent fit on the hands. The design incorporates decorative elements throughout, making these mittens both functional and visually striking.

Knitting Techniques Used

The Reynir mittens employ several intermediate-level knitting techniques to create their distinctive appearance and structure:

• Knitting in the round: The mittens are constructed circularly using double-pointed needles (dpns), which allows for seamless construction and even stitch tension throughout the piece.
• Thumb gussets: Strategic increases create gussets that accommodate the thumb, providing a custom fit that prevents bunching and ensures comfort when wearing.
• Fair Isle patterning: Both the bottom section and the main body of the mittens feature fair isle patterns, which involve stranding two colors of yarn across the back of the work. This technique adds both visual interest and extra insulation through the layered yarn.
• Latvian braids: Decorative Latvian braids are incorporated into the design for embellishment purposes, adding traditional texture and visual detail.
• Yarn over details: A decorative yarn over round is worked at the wrists, creating an elegant openwork element that adds visual sophistication to the cuff area.
• Cuff facing: The mittens include facing on the inside of the cuffs, providing structure and a finished appearance to the wrist opening.

Stitches and Stitch Patterns

The pattern utilizes fundamental knitting stitches combined with more advanced colorwork techniques. The fair isle patterns feature a motif inspired by rowan (mountain ash) leaves, creating a natural, botanical aesthetic. The yarn over rounds create decorative eyelet details at the wrists. Latvian braids add textural variety through their distinctive crossed-stitch appearance. The combination of stockinette stitch as the base fabric with these decorative elements creates mittens with both visual depth and practical warmth.

Materials: Yarn and Needles

These mittens are worked in 3-ply yarn weight, which provides a lightweight yet durable fabric suitable for mittens. The pattern is designed to work with scrap yarn, allowing knitters to use leftover yarn from previous projects. The pattern provides accurate yardage amounts for each color, making it easy to determine in advance whether you have sufficient scraps on hand. If you do not have enough scrap yarn in multiple colors, the mittens can be adapted to work beautifully in just two colors or even a single color, though this would eliminate the fair isle and decorative colorwork elements.

Double-pointed needles (dpns) in the appropriate size for 3-ply yarn are required for working the mittens in the round. The pattern includes finished measurements for the completed mittens after washing and drying flat, allowing you to select the correct size before beginning your project.