Felted Oven Mitten Mittens Knitting Pattern

Felted Oven Mitt Knitting Pattern by Plymouth Yarn

Project Overview

This downloadable knitting pattern from Plymouth Yarn produces a pair of felted oven mitts designed for heat protection in the kitchen. The pattern utilizes the felting process to create dense, insulating fabric from knitted wool, transforming a lightweight knit into a durable, functional kitchen accessory. The finished mitts feature a classic mitten silhouette with a fitted thumb opening.

Materials and Tools

• Yarn: Galway Worsted by Plymouth Yarn (2 balls total per pair of mitts). The yarn is worked double stranded throughout the project to achieve the desired thickness and felting characteristics.
• Needles: US #11 (8.0 mm) double pointed needles (DPNs)
• Additional Supplies: Stitch markers, waste cotton for thumb placement, tapestry needle for finishing

Gauge and Sizing

Gauge is noted as not critical for this project, with an approximate gauge of 2.5 to 3 stitches per 1 inch. This flexibility in gauge is typical for felted projects, as the felting process significantly alters the final dimensions and density of the fabric regardless of the initial knit gauge.

Knitting Techniques

The pattern employs several fundamental knitting techniques to construct the mittens. The project begins with a cast-on of 46 stitches divided evenly across three double pointed needles and joined in the round. A garter stitch ridge is created at the cuff using alternating knit and purl rounds to establish a finished edge.

The body of the mitt is worked in stockinette stitch (st st), created by knitting every round when working in the round. This smooth, flat stitch creates an ideal fabric for felting. The thumb opening is created using a waste yarn technique: five stitches are temporarily knitted with waste cotton, then worked again with the main yarn. This allows the thumb to be picked up and worked later after the main mitt body is complete.

Shaping and Construction

The mitt top is shaped using paired decreases worked symmetrically on two sides of the mitten. The pattern uses slip-slip-knit (SSK) and knit-two-together (K2tog) decreases, which are worked in alternating rounds with plain knit rounds until 20 stitches remain. The top is then closed using the Kitchener stitch, a grafting technique that creates an invisible seam by threading live stitches together.

The thumb is constructed by removing the waste cotton and picking up the original five stitches from the bottom of the opening on one needle and five stitches from the top on another needle. Additional stitches are picked up along the sides of the opening to create a total of 16 stitches. The thumb is worked in stockinette stitch for 10 rounds, then shaped with a series of decreases: knit-two-together decreases worked every other stitch in the first decrease round, followed by additional decrease rounds until all stitches are consumed. The yarn is then threaded through the remaining stitches and pulled tight to close the thumb top.

Felting Process

After knitting is complete, the mitts undergo a felting process that transforms the fabric. The finished mitt is placed in a zippered bag along with a pair of old jeans and washed in a washing machine using a small amount of soap. The wash cycle uses the lowest water level and hottest water temperature available. The friction created by the agitation and heat causes the wool fibers to interlock and compress, creating a dense, felted fabric. The pattern notes that felting results vary depending on individual washing machine characteristics, requiring monitoring during the process.

Finished Details

Once felting is complete, all yarn ends are woven in securely to finish the mitts. The felting process creates a fabric that is significantly thicker and more insulating than the original knit, making the finished mitts suitable for handling hot cookware in the kitchen.