Valley Yarns Plum Blossom Mittens Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Plum Blossom Mittens

What is Being Made

The Valley Yarns Plum Blossom Mittens are a pair of close-fitting women's mittens designed to enhance dexterity while providing warmth. Available in three sizes—Small (7" around palm), Medium (7.5" around palm), and Large (8" around palm)—these mittens feature a decorative blossom motif worked into the upper palm area.

Craft and Project Type

This is a knitting project designed by Kirsten Hipsky. The mittens are constructed using seamless, bottom-up construction methods, making them ideal for knitters who prefer working from cuff to fingertips without seaming.

Techniques Used

The Plum Blossom Mittens employ several advanced knitting techniques:

• Worked in the round: The mittens are knitted circularly using double-pointed needles, ensuring a seamless construction throughout the hand and cuff.
• Stranded colorwork: A two-color stranded technique is used to create the blossom pattern on the upper palm, incorporating both the primary and secondary yarn colors in a coordinated design.
• I-Cord thumb construction: The thumb is worked as an I-Cord using the specialized technique of sliding stitches to the opposite end of the double-pointed needle and knitting with snug tension. This creates a tubular structure that is later grafted to the mitten body using a crochet hook and ladder-stitch method, ensuring a secure and professional finish.
• Decreases and shaping: Strategic decreases (ssk and k2tog) are used to shape the top of the mitten for a proper fit.
• Kitchener stitch: The final closure at the mitten top uses Kitchener stitch (also known as grafting) to seamlessly join the remaining stitches.

Stitches Used

The pattern incorporates fundamental and intermediate knitting stitches:

• Knit stitch (k)
• Slip, slip, knit decrease (ssk)
• Knit two together decrease (k2tog)
• Kitchener stitch for grafting
• Blossom chart stitches for the colorwork pattern

Materials and Tools

The Plum Blossom Mittens are worked in Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky, a premium blend of 85% wool and 15% alpaca that provides warmth and softness. The yarn is worked at a gauge of 3.5 stitches and 3.5 rows per inch in the blossom pattern.

The project requires:

• 1 skein of Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky in Color A (#19 Fuchsia)
• 1 skein of Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky in Color B (#13 Light Pink)
• Set of 5 US size 10.5 double-pointed needles (or size needed to obtain gauge)
• Stitch marker
• Crochet hook (for thumb grafting technique)

Pattern Summary

These mittens are worked from the cuff upward in the round on double-pointed needles. The lower portion is worked in solid color before transitioning to the upper palm, where the two-color stranded blossom chart is introduced. The thumb is worked simultaneously using the I-Cord method, creating a distinctive tubular structure that is later attached to the mitten body using a specialized crochet hook grafting technique. After completing the blossom chart, decreases are worked to shape the top of the mitten, and the remaining stitches are grafted together using Kitchener stitch for a seamless finish. The close-fitting design is intentional, providing improved dexterity for the wearer.