The purple yarn I chose is perfect for Gran because her party piece is a poem about how to grow old wearing purple and learning to spit – it’s v funny, and v worrying because she does wear purple, though I’m not sure if she has spat at anyone recently. She is definitely growing older. In this case I’m going to say that two out of three ain’t bad and will certainly do if the spitting is left out.
I ran up a tension square using the purple cashmere mix on 5mm needles and my measurements on that are: 9 stitches = 4 cm, and 11 rows = 4 cm.
So, knit two identical pieces, one for each hand, and they’ll be interchangeable. Only two stitches are used = plain/knit and purl.
Cast on 36 stitches (so the pieces will be 16 cm wide). Knit the first 8 rows – this will give a nice textured edge that won’t roll up.
Then switch to knit 1 row, purl 1 row, until the piece is 24 cm in length.
Knit the final 8 rows, for a matching upper edge, and cast off.
Repeat.
Simply sew the sides of each piece together with a wool needle (these needles are special and blunt so they don’t split the yarn) and the same yarn as you’ve knitted with.
Go up 18 cm and finish off.
Then leave a gap of 4 cm (for the thumb).
Sew the rest up to the top.
Neaten any stray lengths of yarn.
Twice.
Hey presto, Luxury Mittens!