Bernie Mittens by Lauren C. Brown

Bernie Mittens

Knitting
February 2021
Aran (8 wpi) ?
17 stitches and 22 rows = 4 inches
US 8 - 5.0 mm
US 6 - 4.0 mm
100 - 300 yards (91 - 274 m)
English
This pattern is available as a free Ravelry download

I’ve been stumping for Bernie Sanders for over twenty years, so I was super excited to see him finally have a shot at the White House. Like many people, I noticed his large, cozy brown mittens on Inauguration Day and of course the explosion of memes that followed. Y’all willing to put him everywhere but the White House. Oh well. At least the proceeds from the viral mittens are going toward a good cause.

As a knitter, it was only natural that I immediately wanted to make a pair of Bernie mittens for myself. I couldn’t locate a clear enough photo to replicate the palms exactly, but I think it’s close enough. Figuring out how to construct it was hideous and felt like building a Moebius strip (I resorted to tracing my hand on a piece of paper and cutting it out to figure it out), but I hope the illustrations help.

I had originally planned to make these for myself, but someone offered to buy a pair from me. The person in question had recently been the victim of a vicious cyberbullying attack, so I gave that person the mittens free and am asking anyone making these mittens to consider donating to ending cyber bullying.