Saturday, December 8, 2012

A Gift for You


Another knitting blog by Dragon Dave’s wife

Sometimes, you just want an easy, undemanding project.  Something to keep the fingers moving, where you won’t have to concentrate on how many stitches you have to knit versus how many stitches to purl.  You don’t want to have to keep track of whether you’re completing a knit or a purl row.  Heck, you don’t even want to follow a pattern: you just want to knit!

One such project I enjoy is knitting pot holders.  I like using cotton yarn for these, as it insulates better than acrylic yarn.  I use both the “Sugar ‘n Cream” and “Peaches & Crème” brands, as both offer lots of fun solid and variegated colors.

One year, on a trip to Hawaii, I noticed some cute quilted potholders called “Maui Micro Mitts.”  They were used for getting hot plates and cups out of the microwave.  I liked the idea, and as I hope to get into quilting someday, I bought a pair for the pattern.  As I was trying my hands at making coasters, I had brought along some cotton yarn and some needles.  (Yes, I even knit on vacation!)  After finishing the coaster I was working on, I decided to see if I could knit something similar to the Maui Micro Mitts, and so was born Knitted Micro Mitts.  As a gift to all you knitters out there, here is my first pattern.



Using Size 5 needles (United States size), cast on 18 stitches.  Knit all rows until the piece is at least 11 inches long (I use a piece of paper for easy measurements).  Once the piece is long enough, bind off the stitches.  Fold up the ends 2.5 inches, and using the same color yarn, sew the short sides together to make pockets on each end. 

Ta da!  Now you have your very own Knitted Micro Mitt.  (As yarn isn’t the best insulating material available, I leave it up to you whether or not you want to use these with the oven).



As these didn’t demand a lot of concentration, I made several to give away.  Last Christmas, they made great gifts for friends and family.


If you want a quick pot holder to go with your micro mitt, using the same US Size 5 needles, cast on 30 to 35 stitches, and knit until square, then bind off.  

Please use these patterns only for your own use, as gifts, or for charity.  Oh, and the next time you visit Maui, pick up a pair of the real Maui Micro Mitts.  They're adorable.

Mrs. Dragon Dave

Related Dragon Cache entries

Related Internet Links

No comments:

Post a Comment