The Ruba’iyat of Omar Khayyam is one of my favourite poems. The lush translation offered by Edward FitzGerald conjures images of aromatic spices, beautiful textiles and sensuous geometric design. When I saw the elegant and intricate motifs based on Persian rug-making in Richard Rutt’s A History of Hand-Knitting, I decided to design a pair of mittens that would infuse whispers of Khayyam’s Persia into a snowy Canadian winter.

I recommend using either Knit Picks Telemark or Knit Picks Palette (or comparable yarns), depending on the size you wish to make. These are tightly-knit mittens, designed to keep out the cold and wind, and are knit in the round on DPNs (no seaming).

The pattern includes written instructions and charts.

Clarification: in the instructions it says “K 4”, meaning K 4 rounds. Thanks to Jillie for catching this!

I off-centred the cuff pattern so that it seemed more dynamic, but it would be easy to shift it over a few stitches if you want the swirls centred under the main mitten pattern, depending on your preference.