FO: Octopus Mittens

If you know anything about me, or if you can simply read the title of my blog, you will know that I have a thing for all creatures with tentacles. So when I saw this pattern, I bought it. Immediately.

Because, guys, these mittens have octopus knitted onto them.

And beautiful long tentacles that flow effortlessly onto the back of the mitten. And cuffs complete with little suction cups, made to look like the underside of a tentacle.

The mittens aren't lined, though they do have a small cuff created by working in ribbing for a few inches, and then folding over the knitting to produce a snug and comfortable brim. I like the fact that they aren't lined, because they provide the perfect amount of warmness for most days, without being too warm that they produce sweating (my beloved Fiddlehead Mittens only get pulled out on the coldest of cold days because their three layers of DK yarn create a mitten that is decisively hot).

This is probably the hardest colorwork pattern I've ever made, simply because the colorwork was very complicated. It is a non-repeating pattern, and there are often really long floats of 16 or 17 stitches. I made a commitment to wrap my yarns every 4 to 6 stitches (or 2 to 3 on the thumbs) so as to have successful colorwork. It is completely attainable with a little bit of patience, and although it often kept the knitting from flowing smoothly, it produced neat and even stitches that I am very proud of.

It is an extremely well-written pattern, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone. Every little detail you can think of is packed into these mittens, and they are a joy to knit. They're definitely my new favorites!!

Project Details:
Pattern: Octopus Mittens by Emily Peters
Yarn: Malabrigo Arroyo: approximately 110 yards in Archangel (redish/purple) and 120 yards in Prussia Blue (dark blue)
Needles: US 2.5 (3.0mm)
Modifications: I knit these with sport weight yarn on slightly bigger needles for a slightly more snug fit.
Ravelry page!!