Freya

These mittens draw their inspiration from the beautiful Selbu knitting but with some notable departures – the motifs and the thumb shaping. However, they do retain a traditional Selbu eyelet rib and the pattern on the palm. The longship and eagle have a Scandanavian flavour while the fish and seahorse - full of mystique even though it is only a curled pipefish – are just there to make you smile. The mittens are knitted in the round and there is no grafting – just draw up the top and thumb sts and fasten off. Some weaving in is necessary due to the otherwise long floats but no special skill, other than being comfortable with Fair Isle technique, is necessary.

The pattern is written for Artesano 4ply Alpaca which is discontinued but a suggested alternative is given here. Other suggestions may be found at www.yarnsub.com. Be sure to swatch to check tension.