Shaila Mittens Kit
If it’s your first time knitting with Jamieson & Smith’s marvelous real Shetland wool from real Shetland, you’re in for a treat.
Note: this is for the yarn only. You may purchase the pattern for Project 11 as part of the ebook of A Year of Techniques, which is available at Arnall-Culliford Knitwear or print edition with ebook download code available in the MDK Shop here.
Specs & Details
18 (21) cm finished circumference above the thumb
8.75 (9.75) in mitten length from cuff to top
22 (25) cm mitten length from cuff to top
115 m per skein; 460 m total
2.5 mm DPNs
US 2.5 DPNs
3 mm DPNs
We love Project 11 for A Year of Techniques: Shaila Mittens by Ella Gordon, designer of the iconic Crofthoose Hat, Ola Yoke, and other delightful colorwork designs.
Ella is born, bred and based in Shetland, Scotland, so this ain’t no Upper-West-Side-of-Manhattan “Fair Isle Style.” No quotation marks required: Ella is the real deal.
The Shaila Mittens use two colors of Jamieson & Smith 2 Ply Jumper Weight (like we said, the real deal, y’all), the better to demonstrate the peppy popping that occurs with proper Fair Isle color dominance technique.
In the video tutorial for these mittens, Jen Arnall-Culliford demonstrates the simple way to get your Fair Isle popping. It’s a game-changer.
Have you ever wondered why some Fair Isle patterning looks crisp and snappy, while other times, it’s fuzzy or flat? There are variable causes to consider, most important the choice of foreground and background colors with clear contrast. But even when looking at two examples of the same stitch pattern, in the same colors of the same yarn, there can be a noticeable difference in crispness.
You want the foreground, or “pattern” color to be stand out, and the background color to be just that: a background. Jen explains it all for us, and our mittens are the better for it.
They are delightful mittens, with the overall patterning making them double-thick for warmth.
Learn more about A Year of Techniques here.
