CSM Mitten Instructions

KNITTING MITTENS ON A CIRCULAR SOCK MACHINE (CSM)
by rod / fiberjira
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This process can be used to knit both a left and right hand mitten. The only difference being which side of the cylinder the thumb area is knit on. These instructions are written for sock weight yarn and a 54 slot cylinder;  but should work equally well for a 60 slot.

These instructions should make a medium adult size mitten.  Read all the way through before starting.  It may seem like Greek at first but just follow through step by step.

Remember to add, move and remove weights as necessary.

o Cast on with waste yarn and knit several rows.  Change to good yarn.

o  Cuff – Knit 25 rows. Hang the hem.

o  Wrist – knit 34 rows. Stop with yarn carrier in front. Slightly left-front for left hand mitten and towards the right-front for a right hand mitten.

o  For a right hand mitten, start with the 4th hook behind the halfway mark on the right side.  Raise the 4th hook and the hooks on the back side of cylinder, working counter-clockwise.  Continue raising hooks until there are only 20 hooks down (in the working position) on the front right side of the cylinder.  Move the yarn carrier forward as necessary, ending with it on the backside.

o  For a left hand mitten, start with the 4th hook behind the halfway mark on the left side.  Work clockwise raising hooks; leave 20 hooks down on the front left side.

o  Knitting the thumb.  Use weights to keep the stitches down or be very diligent about keeping the thumb rows pulled down.  Remember to use heel take up spring.  To help some in keeping the  edge stitches from coming off, knit back and forth in this manor: on each pass, raise the hook closest to the yarn carrier and lower the hook on the opposite side. On the first pass, the hook on the opposite end will already be down.

o  To create the thumb web, knit back and forth for a total of 38 rows .

o  End with the yarn carrier in back.  Cut yarn, leaving a 16 inch long tail, enough to close the end and side of the thumb.

o  Cast on waste yarn and knit another dozen or so rows on the 20 down hooks.

o  End with yarn carrier in back.

o  Remove weights.

o  Cut the waste yarn.

o  Reach under cylinder and pull down on thumb webbing.  With the yarn carrier empty, crank around once and let the yarn drop from the 20 hooks.  Let the thumb section hang in the cylinder.

Now to create the gusset; the area where the thumb will join the palm.

o  Push down 1 hook at each end of the 20 hooks still down, which makes a total of 22 hooks down.  This will help close up holes at the edges of the thumb area.

o  Starting with the outside hooks and working towards the center, hang 11 stitches from each side of the thumb.  Begin with the first stitch below the ladder.  The drawing shows the approximate location.  Be sure to hang the side of the stitches, not the ladder part.  You may need to skip a few stitches if they are too snug to reach the next hook.  Try to skip the same number and location on both sides.

Hooks used for thumb on right hand mitten.

o  There should be yarn on all hooks now.

o  Lower 6 more hooks to the left of the 22 hooks still down. These additional hooks will lock in the yarn tail you are about to cast on.

o  Re-thread with good yarn.

o  Put about a 10 inch yarn tail between the raised and the lowered hook on the left side. (Bury the tail end later when finishing the mitten).

o Crank forward a few hooks.

o  Push down as many hooks as possible on the right side of the cylinder.

o  Put the necessary weights on.  Carefully crank forward, stopping in front to lower all remaining hooks.

o  Knit 38 rows for the finger area.

o  Knit as for a toe to finish off the fingertip area.

o  Put waste yarn back on.  Crank several rows and cast off.

o  Kitchener the end of the mitten and the end of the thumb.

o  Use a vertical stitch to close the side of the thumb.  A mattress stitch or similar should work well.

Variations:
Ribbed or mock ribbed cuff.
Back of mitten ribbed/mock ribbed.
Length of wrist and finger area.
Width and length of thumb.

Finish Mittens

Knitting Mittens On A Circular Sock Machine (CSM) by fiberjira/rod is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.