Simple Mitts are my simplest, most basic woolen mitts! They are easy to make—the only special skill you’ll need is the ability to knit in the round comfortably using DPNs.

Though simple, this design features built-in left- and right-handed mitts for a better fit and more satisfying mirror-image symmetry between the two. The pattern is currently written for a single size, which fits up to ~ 8”/20.3cm hand circumference—about a women’s medium glove size, generally.

Interesting fact: these mitts appeared in a scene in Outlander! They can be seen in the waulking-the-cloth scene from Season 1. This version may be very slightly different from those armwarmers, because up to a certain point I was making them without any shaping at the wrist, and I’m really not sure which version I was making at the time. And none of the main characters wore anything I made, though you can also see a lightweight, early version of the Wheatfield Cowl in the same scene, knit from some fawn-colored silk/wool. So my original pieces were never any of the chunky knits etc. that became iconic.

What an epic brush with fame, though.

Anyway. Now your can knit your own background mitts, more or less as seen on TV! Wow!

Gauge:
Gauge is 9 sts and 13 rows over 2”/5cm. Please be sure to check your gauge.

Materials:
About 120 yards of Patons Classic Worsted Wool
1 set of 4-5 DPNs in US7-8/4.5-5.0mm, or size needed for gauge
Tapestry needle

Techniques:
You’ll need to be comfortable knitting in the round (probably with DPNs, though there’s nothing dependent on that in the instructions if you prefer another method).

(As a final note, since it appears that there are a lot of simple mitt patterns called Simple Mitts already, I’m thinking of changing the name to Outlander Background Woolworker #7 Mitts, but again, they are not inspired-by; they are the originals. It was quite a while ago.)