This page offers two additional bits of mitten tradition—the chart and commentary for the traditional Double Irish Chain pattern for the backs of Newfoundland mittens or gloves and a curious and effective palm and finger pattern from Newfoundland. These can be applied as you wish to the other mittens and fingermitts in this part of the book.
Double Irish Chain Mittens come from Conception Harbour, near St. John’s, Newfoundland. Newfoundland folklorist Jerry Pocius reports that it’s a beloved pattern there and is also hooked into rugs and worked into patchwork quilts as well as knitted into mittens. There is no way of knowing which came first, as the pattern works equally well in all three media, and we can only guess from the name that an Irish woman may have brought it to this continent.
Double Irish Chain Mitten made from Labrador Diamonds Mitten directions (p. 156)
Double Irish Chain can also be knitted with the diamond 7 sts wide with a little dot in the center. I liked the look of the dark diamonds and the white chains and so opted for the 5-st diamond. The color of the chains (CC on this chart) should be carried ahead to bring out the pattern.
Double Irish Chain can be substituted for the back pattern on Labrador Diamonds Mittens (page 156), as both patterns have an 8-st rep. Substitute it for the back pattern on Mrs. Martin’s Finger Mitts (p. 164) too, but adjust the number of sts on Needle 1 to a multiple of 8 by taking sts from the palm needle on the little-finger side, then redistributing the palm sts so the two palm needles are more or less balanced.
Like much double-knitting in Newfoundland and Labrador especially, Double Irish Chain is often made with gray and white homespun (really homespun) yarns. I’ve knitted it here in denim and sheep’s white medium weight yarn from Briggs & Little Woollen Mills in New Brunswick. Consider reversing light and dark on this pattern for a different look, but always carry the contrast color ahead to emphasize the narrow lines.
It might be fun to cover a whole mitten with this simple geometric pattern in the New Brunswick/Nova Scotia/Maine tradition. Remember your total sts must be a multiple of eight for the pattern to wrap seamlessly around the mitten.
The palm and thumb of the Double Irish Chain mitten and the little mitten beside it in the color photo are worked in a version of Salt and Pepper peculiar to Newfoundland. To create a pull-up effect like that in Stripes and Checkerboard patterns, Newfoundland knitters carry alternate stitches ahead (p. 16) in every rnd, regardless of color. The textured effect is said to make the mitten thicker on the palm and to give a better gripping surface. That is, in every rnd, say, all the odd sts (1, 3, 5, 7, and so forth) are carried ahead, while all the even sts (2, 4, 6, 8, and so forth) are carried behind.
The surprising visual effect of this alternation of carrying ahead by stitches is jagged horizontal stripes of color. This is why it does what it does (if you are interested): The color carried ahead always lies vertically beneath the other color. In Salt and Pepper, then (for example), the dark color lies above the light color in Rnds 1 and 3 and 5 and lies below the light color in Rnds 2 and 4 and 6. This puts the dark sts of two rnds close together in Rnds 1 and 2 and Rnds 3 and 4, while the light sts of two rnds lie close together in Rnds 2 and 3 and Rnds 4 and 5. (If that makes no sense to you, give it a try and see for yourself. Allow at least 6 rnds for the effect to develop.)
Neither of the two Labrador knitters I have oral accounts from do this, and Harriet Pardy Martin even says not to do it “or you gets a ridge in your knitting,” but many mittens from Newfoundland (the island) have this effect, which is too tricky not to be deliberate. Try it on your second, third, or fourth pair of Newfoundland mittens, but not on your first. It’s a fun effect, and looks great in close colors, but is time-consuming to get right the first time. If you carry the wrong color ahead in one rnd, or even for two sts, the error will be quite obvious.
Palm of Double Irish Chain mitten showing Newfoundland palm and finger stitch
Knitting Salt and Pepper this way makes a darling all-over pattern for a child’s mitten as well. You may need to use knitting needles one size larger than given in the Salt and Pepper directions to get the correct tension.