Valley Yarns Dreidel Mittens Knitting Pattern

Valley Yarns Dreidel Mittens

What is Being Made

The Valley Yarns Dreidel Mittens are a pair of knitted mittens designed by Julie Turjoman, worked as a single continuous piece from cuffs to fingertips. These mittens feature decorative lace diamonds shaped like dreidels interspersed throughout the design, making them an elegant and festive accessory. Available in four sizes to fit hand circumferences from 7½ inches to 8¾ inches, these mittens combine both functional warmth and decorative appeal.

Techniques Used

These mittens are worked using the in-the-round technique, which creates a seamless construction without the need for seaming. The pattern employs lace work combined with garter stitch as the primary construction methods. The lace elements are strategically placed to create the signature dreidel-shaped diamond motifs against a textured garter stitch background. The pattern includes increases and decreases to shape the hand and gusset areas, with increases worked using M1L (make 1 left) and M1R (make 1 right) techniques for invisible shaping. Decreases are accomplished using K2tog (knit 2 together) and more complex decreases like K5tog for shaping the mitten top.

Stitches Used

• Garter stitch – the primary background stitch, created by knitting every round
• Lace stitches – used for the decorative dreidel diamond patterns, worked according to the Garter Lace Chart included in the pattern
• K1/P1 Rib – used for the cuff ribbing to create an elastic, fitted edge
• Knit and purl stitches – combined to create texture and pattern definition
• Increases – M1L and M1R for shaping the gusset and hand
• Decreases – K2tog for standard decreasing and K5tog for more dramatic shaping at the mitten crown

Materials and Tools

The pattern calls for 2 balls of Valley Yarns Worthington yarn in the colorway Rhododendron. Worthington is a soft, tweedy blend composed of 50% wool, 25% alpaca, and 25% viscose, with each ball providing 50 grams and 174 yards of yardage. The needles required are US 4 (3.5mm) double-pointed needles (DPNs), or the size needed to achieve the specified gauge of 24 stitches and 28 rows over 4 inches in garter stitch, blocked. Additional materials include stitch markers – specifically 2 markers in one unique color and 2 markers in a second unique color to help track pattern sections – and a tapestry needle for weaving in ends and any finishing work.

Difficulty Level

These mittens are rated as intermediate difficulty, making them suitable for knitters with some experience. The combination of working in the round, managing lace pattern repeats from a chart, and executing various increase and decrease techniques requires solid foundational skills beyond basic knitting.