Thrummed Snowflakes

It's getting cold in Holland. Especially for a 1 year old in the front baby seat of your bike at 8 a.m. The kid really could use some thrummed mittens. So mommy made him some. No thumbs for easy knitting and easy fit. And ofcourse, an i cord attached to both the mittens in case the little dondersteen gets them off.

Yarn: blue yarn GB Wolle Jil 50g/125m
Needles 2.25 & 4 mm
Gauge : 22 stitches = 4 inches / 10 cm. This pattern asks for a specific gauge. You need exactly 36 stitches to make the pattern fit. Ofcourse you can use thicker yarn and make your own thrummed snowflakes, but if you intend to make the mittens for a toddler the gauge has to be right.

Cast on 36 stitches. Slip on a stitchmarker and start knitting in the round. Knit in 1-1 rib for 6 cm with needles 2.25 mm. Change to needles 4 mm and knit two rounds. Start knitting the pattern. The black blocks are the thrums. This website explaines how thrums are made:

"Pull off (do not cut) a 7.5 cm (3") length of fleece or roving (using 4 strands of the roving). Twist this length of fleece or roving slightly in the centre so that it is about the same thickness as your yarn ........ Insert the needle into the stitch. Slip the folded thrum over the inserted needle so that the ends are to the inside of the mitten. Now wrap the knitting yarn around the inserted needle and beside the thrum. Complete the stitch by pulling through the thrum and the yarn together" When you knit the thrummed stitch in the next row be sure to knit into the back of the loop of the thrummed stitch and knit both the thrum and the yarn at the same time.

Finished? Now the decreasing starts. I tried to figure out where to put stitchmakers, but the easiest way for me to explain is to take the 18 and 36 stitch and decrease on both side of these stitches every row. Looking at this 'center stitch of the decreasing part' the two stitches to the right are knit together and the two stitches left to the center stitch are decreased with a Slip One, Knit One, Pass the Slipped Stitch Over decrease. When there are 12 stitches left seam them together with a kitchener stitch. See here for a great tutorial. Knit another one, knit an I cord (also shown on knittinghelp.com) and attach the cord to both mittens and your baby has some warm comfy mittens!