19 December 2011

Mittens, in small and medium

Well, the chaos of moving and the demands of holiday knitting took over. I've finally conceded that if I keep holding out until I solve the third (and fourth?) size riddle, then I may never get the Thames Street Mittens republished. And that just would be fair to buyers, who seem to be mostly interested in the smaller size anyhow.

Therefore, instructions for both small and medium sizes are now available on Ravelry. Anybody who wants additional sizes and doesn't feel confident to make changes themselves can still feel free to contact me for assistance. Or, if you do make changes on your own, please tell me about how you adapted and overcame! Then, perhaps in the new year, when things around here calm down a bit, I'll get back to it. (That's much more likely if I get specific requests...)

06 December 2011

Mittens - More Sizes Coming Soon

I published the Thames Street Mittens as a single size pattern. And then I immediately received requests for additional sizes. Fairly so, certainly. Hands come in different sizes.

Writing a pattern in multiple sizes is not something I've ever done before. Unfortunately, it's not so straightforward with this particular pattern, because of the asymmetrical decrease. I guess the easy way around it would be to eliminate the asymmetry. But I started out pursuing the less easy way.

I accepted a commission for a second pair of mittens, and I used the opportunity to work up a smaller size and wrote the pattern adjustments as I went. Cut to - that pair of mittens finished and sent to the recipient, small size added to written pattern, and all that's left is to write out the large size (because, let's face it, if you're putting in the effort to do multiple sizes, you need to have three). I cast on with my leftover yarn, 8 additional stitches for one more repeat of the stitch pattern, to work through the decrease section and make sure I got everything right as I wrote the additional changes.. but the sample is way, way, way too large for actual human hands.

Time to give up? Not quite. I think maybe if I adjust the stitch pattern slightly, I can make an interim size. I'm getting close to the point of just plan having too many pages for what should be a simple mitten pattern. Perhaps getting rid of the asymmetry is the way to go after all...