hermione's flip tops

hermione’s flip-top mittensthese mittens have a simple but impressive lace pattern suitable for adventurous beginners and intermediate knitters alike. they can be knit with optional flip-tops, allowing wearers to have their fingers free with minimal effort, and are knit at a dense gauge to make durable, thick mittens that will keep you warm well into the fall months while still easily fitting inside your coat sleeves.

the cables of the lace pattern spiral into the thumb gusset and create a lovely little feminine design detail, while the mirrored eyelet and cable design creates symmetrical lace across both mittens.

a free patte

rn by 4mpersand

hermione’s flip-top mittens

these mittens were inspired jointly by the hat Hermione wears in the film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Christy Aylesworth’s lovely beanie design available on ravelry.com, Hermione Hearts Ron.

size & gaugesmall, 6.25” wrist circumferencemedium, 7.5” wrist circumference

stockinette gauge: 7.75 stitches per inch chart gauge: 8 stitches per inch

yarn selectionfearless fibers’ superwash merino was used to knit the sample for this pattern and is now discontinued.

choose a sport weight yarn with body, good stitch definition and some stretch. merino or a merino blend will work well for this pattern.

notions• 2.75 and 3.0 mm dpns (us 2 + 2 1/2) [or size required to achieve gauge] • cable needle• stitch holder• stitch markers, if desired• 1 yard of waste yarn (for flip-tops)• tapestry needle for weaving ends

yardagesmall: 260 yards (210 if shortened)medium: 290 (240 if shortened)

pattern cuffs are 6” in length. smaller yardage requirements are for 2” cuffs.

note: buttons are not required as tension from the opening stitches will hold the flip-tops against the backs of your hands.

pattern notes to considermaking a gauge swatch to ensure you make the right size will save you a lot of time and frustration. I promise it’s worth your time to do,

please read the whole pattern before knitting.

listed numbers are for the small size. bracketed numbers indicate stitch counts for the medium.

to make shorter mittens, work 10 rows (1 chart repeat) when directed to work 40 rows. omitting 3 of the 4 chart repeats will result in a mitten with a 2 inch cuff instead of a 5 inch cuff.

block mittens lightly if desired.

left mittenusing the smaller of two needle sizes, cast on 56 (68) stitches, distributing over each needle as follows: 18 (22), 16 (22), 22 (24).

join in the round and knit 6 rows of k1 p1 ribbing.switch to larger needles for the next row.

for the small size only, k2tog, k5, p5, *k6 p5*. re-peat *pattern* x2, and knit the last 22 sts. for the medium size, *k6 p5* x4 and knit the last 24 sts.

each row will have 3 (4) chart repeats before the 22 (24) stitch stockinette palm panel is knit.

work 40 rows (4 chart repeats plus palm panel).

continuing in pattern, increase 2 stitches per row every third row on either side of your last stitch on your third needle (the stockinette panel). use stitch markers if it helps you to remember which stitch is which when increasing - all increases should be outside of the same stitch ladder.

increase 11 times for +22 stitches.

you should now have a total of 77 (90) stitches on your needles. knit 3 more rows in pattern.

place the 22 new stitches on a stitch holder for the thumb. knit the next row in pattern and cast on 2 stitches (knit) to tighten the gap above the thumb. knit each of these two stitches together with a stitch in the next row.

you are now back to 55 (68) sts and the mitten should reach the base of your fingers if tried on.

knit the next row in pattern but knit the palm panel with waste yarn for flip-top mittens. ensure that you leave about an 8-10 inch loop of your main yarn inside to weave in ends later.don’t worry if this makes your stitches a little loose as it is easy to tighten them up later.

continue knitting with your regular yarn until the mitten reaches the base of your middle finger’s fingernail, where you will start decreasing.

decreases:

row 1: *k1, k2tog, k3, p1, p2tog, p2tog* x3 (x4) [pattern]. *k2tog, k2* x5 (x6) [palm]. total: 40 (50) sts.

row 2: *k5, p3* x3 (x4) [pattern], knit all palm sts.

row 3: *k1, k2tog, k2, p1, p2tog* x3 (x4) [pattern]. *k2tog, k2* x4 (x5) [palm]. total: 30 (37) sts.

row 4: *k4, p2* x3 (x4) [pattern], knit all palm sts.

row 5: *k1, k2tog, k1, p2tog* x3 (x4) [pattern], *k2tog* x6 (medium *k2tog* x5, k3tog) [palm]. total: 18 (22) sts.

row 6: *k3tog* x6 (medium *k3tog* x6, *k2tog* x2).

draw your yarn through the remaining 6 (8) live stitches with a tapestry needle (a large sewing needle will also do) and weave in your ends.


right mittenusing the smaller of two needle sizes, cast on 56 (68) stitches, distributing over each needle as follows: 16 (22), 18 (22), 22 (24).

join in the round and knit 6 rows of k1 p1 ribbing.switch to larger needles for the next row.

for the small size only, p2tog, p4 k6, *p5, k6*. repeat *pattern* x2, and knit the last 22 sts. for the medium size, *p5 k6* x4 and knit the last 24 sts.

each row will have 3 (4) chart repeats before the 22 (24) stitch stockinette palm panel is knit.

work 40 rows (4 chart repeats plus palm panel).

continuing in pattern, increase 2 stitches per row every third row on either side of your first stitch on your third needle (the stockinette panel). use a stitch marker again if it helps you remember which stitch is which - remember to always increase around the same stitch in the ladder.

increase 11 times for +22 stitches.

you should now have a total of 77 (90) stitches on your needles. knit 3 more rows in pattern.

place the 22 new stitches on a stitch holder for the thumb. knit the next row in pattern and cast on 2 stitches (knit) to tighten the gap above the thumb. knit each of these two stitches together with a stitch in the next row.

you are now back to 55 (68) sts and the mitten should reach the base of your fingers if tried on.

knit the next row in pattern but knit the palm panel with waste yarn for flip-top mittens. ensure that you leave about an 8-10 inch loop of your main yarn inside to weave in ends later.don’t worry if this makes your stitches a little loose as it is easy to tighten them up later.

continue knitting with your regular yarn until the mitten reaches the base of your middle finger’s fingernail, where you will start decreasing.

decreases:

row 1: *p1, p2tog, p2tog, k1, k2tog, k3* x3 (x4) [pat-tern]. *k2tog, k2* x5 (x6) [palm]. total: 40 (50) sts.

row 2: *p3, k5* x3 (x4) [pattern]. knit all palm sts.row 3: *p1, p2tog, k1, k2tog, k2* x3 (x4) [pattern]. *k2tog, k2* x4 (x5) [palm]. total: 30 (37) sts.

row 4: *p2, k4* x3 (x4) [pattern]. knit all palm sts.

row 5: *p2tog, k1, k2tog, k1* x3 (x4) [pattern], *k2tog* x6 (medium *k2tog* x5, k3tog) [palm] total: 18 (22) sts.

row 6: *k3tog* x6 (medium *k3tog* x6, *k2tog* x2).

draw your yarn through the remaining 6 (8) live stitches with a tapestry needle (a large sewing needle will also do) and weave in your ends.

thumbs:pick up 2 stitches across the gap before you start working the thumb stitches. divide your stitches evenly with 8 per needle.

knit all stitches until the fabric reaches the mid-point of your thumbnail. start decreases as follows:

row 1: *k1, k2tog* x8. total: 16 sts.row 2: knit all stitches.row 3: k1, *k1, k2tog* x5. total: 11 sts.row 4: k3tog, *k2tog* x4.

draw your yarn through the remaining 6 live stitches and weave in your ends.


making the flip-tops:go back to your waste yarn and carefully unravel the stitches with the mitten right-side out, picking each stitch up from each side as you go using the needle size you used for the ribbing. if it is hard to remove the waste yarn, tug the stitches out using the tip of a smaller DPN or your tapestry needle.

when complete, you should have 44 (48) stitches split evenly between two needles.

knit the 22 (24) stitches on only the lower needle only to start.

knit one full row in k1p1 ribbing, picking up a stitch inside the mitten from the next row up from the one you are knitting on each end. knit this stitch together with the first (or last) stitch on the needle. you will still have 22 (24) stitches at the end of each row.

do this 6 times as you knit 6 rows, continuing to pick up and knit together stitches from the body of the mitten every other row. (you will be knitting flat and turning the work).

bind off this side and repeat the process for the upper needle. this time, when picking up side stitches, use stitches from the outside of the mitten. that way, when tried on, the ribbing from the top should overlap the bottom ribbing and they will work together to keep out the cold.

now’s the time to weave in those ends you left from earlier....

...and then you’re done!

enjoy your beautiful new flip-top mittens, and please don’t hesitate to share them with the rest of us on Ravelry!


♥


left mitten

right mitten

knit

purl

yarn over

p2tog

c3front

c3front: slip 3 to cable needle, hold in front, knit 3, knit 3 from cable needle.

chart legend

if you have never followed a chart before. there are three major things to keep in mind: one, each stitch on your needles is a square on the chart, two, charts are read from right to left, and, three, charts are read from the bottom to the top.

start the chart in the bottom right square, and knit towards the left. once you finish the row in the chart, you have finished one “chart repeat.* on your next row of your project, you simply follow the next row up on the chart. once you get to the end of the chart, you start over at the bottom.

pattern charts

hermione's flip tops

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