Christmas Eve Mittens

Christmas Eve Mittens by Elena Maltseva

What Is Being Made

The Christmas Eve Mittens are a pair of festive hand coverings designed by Elena Maltseva and released in December 2023. These mittens feature an 8" circumference hand size and incorporate decorative colorwork elements suitable for holiday wear. The pattern is available as a downloadable PDF and accommodates intermediate-level knitters.

Craft and Primary Techniques

This project uses knitting as the primary craft method. The mittens are constructed using stranded colorwork knitting, a technique that involves carrying multiple yarn colors across rows to create patterned designs. The pattern also incorporates duplicate stitch, which is an embroidery technique applied after the knitting is complete to add fine details and embellishments to the finished mittens. Optional embroidery in additional colors provides further customization possibilities.

Stitches and Construction Methods

The mittens are worked in the round using a gauge of 9 stitches by 13 rows per 1 inch in stranded colorwork knitting after blocking. The hand portion of each mitten consists of 70 stitches. Knitters have flexibility in their needle choice: the pattern can be worked on a set of 5 double-pointed needles (dpns) or on circular needles using the Magic Loop method. When following the stranded colorwork charts, stitches are worked from right to left, and longer floats (the yarn strands carried across the back of the work) should be caught using the knitter's preferred method to maintain even tension and prevent snagging.

Materials and Yarn Requirements

The Christmas Eve Mittens pattern calls for the following materials:

• Needles: US Size 0 (2mm) set of 5 double-pointed needles or circular needles for Magic Loop
• Yarn: Light fingering weight yarn in multiple colors totaling approximately 325 yards from 70 grams. The color breakdown includes: background color (140 yards/30 grams), contrast color (185 yards/40 grams), plus small amounts of black, red, yellow, orange, and lighter blue for optional embroidery details
• Additional tools: A tapestry needle for working duplicate stitch and embroidery

Sizing and Customization

The mittens are designed to fit an 8" circumference hand when worked with the recommended yarn weight, needle size, and gauge. Knitters who wish to create larger mittens can adjust the size by using larger needles or selecting thicker yarn while maintaining the same stitch count, allowing the pattern to be adapted for different hand sizes.