Popinjays

Popinjays Stranded-Knit Hand Warmers by Jessie McKitrick

What Is Being Made

Popinjays are a pair of stranded-knit hand warmers designed to showcase a striking contrast between tropical bird motifs and traditional Nordic knitwear aesthetics. These mittens feature juxtaposed warm-weather and cold-weather design elements, creating a unique visual tension. The hand warmers are available in three finished sizes: Adult Small (hand circumference 7.5 inches, length 6.75 inches), Adult Medium (hand circumference 8.5 inches, length 7.75 inches), and Adult Large (hand circumference 9.5 inches, length 8.75 inches).

Knitting Techniques Used

Stranded colorwork is the primary technique employed in this advanced-level design. Stranded knitting, also known as Fair Isle knitting, involves carrying multiple yarn colors across the back of the work while knitting with the active color, creating intricate two-color patterns on the fabric surface. This technique produces a dense, warm fabric ideal for hand warmers.

The pattern includes separate charts for each hand and individual thumb charts, allowing for customized patterning across both mittens. A single cuff chart is shared for both hands, providing consistency at the wrist opening. The mittens are constructed using double-pointed needles (DPNs) for seamless, in-the-round knitting.

A backwards loop cast-on is specified for this project, a technique where you create loops by wrapping yarn around your needle in reverse, building your initial stitches one at a time before beginning the main knitting.

Stitches Used

While specific stitch abbreviations are not detailed in the provided excerpt, stranded-knit mittens typically employ knit stitches as the foundation, with color changes executed across knit rows to create the bird and Nordic pattern work shown in the charts. The two-color stranded technique requires managing yarn tension across both the main color (MC) and contrasting color (CC) throughout each round.

Materials: Yarn and Needles

Yarn specifications vary by size:

• Size Small: Knit Picks Palette (100% Peruvian Highland Wool; 231 yards per 50 grams). Main color shown in Calypso Heather; 1 ball required. Contrasting color in Peapod; 1 ball required.
• Size Medium: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Sport (100% Peruvian Highland Wool; 137 yards per 50 grams). Main color shown in White; 1 ball required. Contrasting color in Baltic Heather; 1 ball required.
• Size Large: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Worsted (100% Peruvian Highland Wool; 137 yards per 50 grams). Main color requires 2 balls; contrasting color requires 2 balls.

All yarn options are 100% Peruvian Highland Wool, offering excellent warmth and durability for hand warmers. The yarn weights range from sport weight (Size Medium) to worsted weight (Size Large), with Size Small using Knit Picks Palette, a 4-ply fingering-weight yarn.

Needle specifications by size:

• Size Small: US 1 (2.25mm) and US 2 (2.75mm) double-pointed needles
• Size Medium: US 2 (2.75mm) and US 2.5 (3mm) double-pointed needles
• Size Large: Needle sizes not specified in provided content

Double-pointed needles enable seamless, circular construction essential for mittens and hand warmers, allowing the knitter to work continuously in the round without seaming.

Difficulty Level

This pattern is rated as advanced, reflecting the complexity of managing stranded colorwork across multiple pattern charts while maintaining consistent tension with two yarn colors. Knitters should be comfortable with two-color Fair Isle techniques, reading knitting charts, and working with double-pointed needles before beginning this project.