One of the first Maine double-knit mittens I ever saw was a Striped Mitten, but the pattern is less popular than either the Fox and Geese pattern or the Salt and Pepper pattern. I don’t know why.
To the careful knitter, the sharp lines of this pattern are its best asset, because they emphasize perfection and yield a fine mitten with enough fashion pizzazz to be at home in London or Boston.
The pattern itself, a simple one-one alternation of two colors, pulls the mitten fabric up into fine ridges, making it appear that one color has been knit above the other. They are traditionally knit with a dark color “on top”—that is, carried ahead—and a very bright, warm color showing through from beneath.
This pattern was shown to me by Nora Johnson of Five Islands, who learned it as a girl in the Farmington area. It was until recently also knit by Elma Farwell of the Dromore area of Phippsburg. I once thought it was unknown outside of Maine, but have since seen it, exactly like this mitten, in a collection of traditional mittens from Gotland, Sweden, where it is called the Pole Pattern (The Swedish Mitten Book, Lark, 1984). I have seen similar mittens from other parts of Sweden, where the color carried ahead is changed once or twice in the length of the mitten so that first the dark color, then the light color, then the dark again, rise to the surface, creating the effect of waves of color. A blue and white striped mitten in the color photos shows this effect. If you want to try it, allow at least 10 rnds between changes.
Striped Mitten from Maine
Yarn Medium (worsted) weight yarn in two colors, either contrasting or close. Striped mittens were traditionally knitted in black or navy and white, but more recently are made with a dark MC carried ahead (p. 16) and a glowingly bright “under color.” The samples were knitted in Bartlettyarns 2-ply Fisherman yarn (white) and Rangeley (red or blue) yarn. For one pair you will need
| MC (oz) | 1 | 1½ | 1¾ | 2 | 2 | 2½ | 2½ | 3 |
| (g) | 28.5 | 42.75 | 50 | 57 | 57 | 71.25 | 71.25 | 85.5 |
| CC (oz) | 1 | 1½ | 1¾ | 2 | 2 | 2½ | 2½ | 3 |
| (g) | 28.5 | 42.75 | 50 | 57 | 57 | 71.25 | 71.25 | 85.5 |
Equipment 1 set Size 5 (3.75mm, Can. Size 9) double-pointed needles, or size you need to knit in Stripes pattern at correct tension • 6 ” (15cm) length of contrasting waste yarn • Blunt-tipped yarn needle
Tension 6¾ sts and 5½ rnds = 1 ” (2.5cm) in narrow Stripes pattern.
ABBREVIATIONS beg: beginning • CC: contrast color • dec(s): decrease(s) • inc(s): increase(s) • k: knit • k2tog: knit 2 together • MI: make 1 stitch • MIL: make 1 stitch left • MIR: make 1 stitch right • MC: main color • p: purl • rep: repeat • rnd(s): round(s) • SSK2tog: slip, slip, knit 2 sts together • st(s): stitch(es) • twisted MI: twisted make 1 cast-on
Measurements—inches and centimeters
| Child Sizes | Adult Sizes | |||||||||
| 4–6 | 8–10 | WS | WM | WL | MM | ML | XL | |||
| Hand length | 5½ | 6½ | 6½ | 7 | 7½ | 7 | 7½ | 8½ | ||
| 14 | 16.5 | 16.5 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 21.5 | |||
| Hand circumference, (incl. tip of thumb) | 7 | 8 | 7½ | 9 | 9 | 9½ | 9½ | 10 | ||
| 18 | 20.25 | 19 | 23 | 23 | 24.25 | 24.25 | 25.5 | |||
| Mitten hand length | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7½ | 8 | 7½ | 8 | 9 | ||
| 15.25 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 20.25 | 19 | 20.25 | 23 | |||
| Mitten thumb (⅓ hand) | 2 | 2⅜ | 2⅜ | 2½ | 2⅝ | 2½ | 2⅝ | 3 | ||
| 5 | 6 | 6 | 6.5 | 6.75 | 6.5 | 6.75 | 7.5 | |||
| Mitten width | 3½ | 4 | 3¾ | 4½ | 4½ | 4¾ | 4¾ | 5 | ||
| 9 | 10.25 | 9.5 | 11.5 | 11.5 | 12 | 12 | 12.75 | |||
Note: Although these directions as originally published included Size 2–4 for small children, I find the resulting mitten is really too rigid for toddlers and babies. See Baby Foxes and Goslings section for traditional mittens in soft yarns and small sizes.
A multiple of 2 sts and 1 rnd, this vertically striped pattern is a simple one-one alternation of two colors worked on an even number of sts. It wraps perfectly around the hand with no obvious break.
Wide stripes on the cuff split apart into narrow stripes on the hand and thumb. An unusual method of increasing keeps the stripes continuous through incs on the thumb gore. At the tip of the thumb and the hand, the stripes meet neatly at three dec points.
The stripes of the thumb gore branch from one MC rib of the cuff in a treelike pattern—the kind of detail that intrigues traditional knitters and keeps handwork precious and impossible to reproduce by machines.
This pattern can be knitted flat, but add one additional st each side for a seam and purl every other row. Check that you are still carrying MC ahead even when you purl. CC will seem to dominate on the p side of the work.
Knitted densely with MC carried ahead throughout (p. 16), the Stripes pattern pulls up the fabric of the knitting and, in the narrow stripe, causes the MC to stand up in ridges, like corduroy. The effect is not obvious until you have knitted several rnds. Failure to carry MC ahead shows prominently, so take care.
The 4-st, 1-rnd stockinette pattern of the cuff is unique to Maine and Gotland, Sweden. A similar pattern is knit in Shetland, but the off color is purled, and the result is called “corrugated ribbing.” In Maine, the cuff is frequently used with other simple color patterns.
Although MC is also carried ahead on the cuff and the fabric is pulled up widthwise by the vertically aligned color changes, the MC doesn’t dominate here as much as in the narrow stripe on the hand. However, there is still enough pull-up effect to make the cuff snug and warm on the wrist.
