The Medallion Mittens Free Knitting Pattern

With the northeastern part of the US experiencing a poler vortex that brings “historic cold” (those two words alone make me shiver!), these Medallion Mittens are just the ticket to ease the winter blues. Check out the full pattern on Canadian Living.

These mitts are knit in worsted weight with a panel of round cables snaking up the middle, providing an extra layer of warmth. They’re like sleeping bags for your hand, a friend remarked when she saw my hands burrowing into them. Indeed they are, although I like to think of mittens as a pocket. I hate to quote myself, but as the copyright belongs to Canadian Living, here we go:

When I was a child, someone once described a mitten to me as “a pocket that holds your hand.” That description has stuck with me over the years for its total aptness and whimsy. In the dead of winter, when retrieving mail from the driveway seemed like an Arctic trek, holding hands with a pocket made the whole endeavour seem less daunting and more like an adventure. Even now, years later, when I wear my mittens I imagine that we’re braving the cold together, hand in hand. [Canadian Living]

These mittens are sized to fit an average woman’s hand, and they fit snug to anticipate the natural stretching that happens with mitts (because our hands are lively and constantly moving).

To increase or decrease the length of the mitten, just add or subtract a cable repeat. And if you’re on Ravelry (aka. Facebook for knitters), add this pattern to your queue or post a picture of your mitts on the project page!