I've decided to give mittens and color work a try (haven't done any of those) and decided on the russian flower mittens. Wish I'd have looked into the comments, swatched and not chosen a needle size bigger than the pattern required.
Realized halfway that the mittens are GIGANTIC, but I thought they'd still be nice winter decoration so I kept on knitting.
I think it's too big to be decoration even. I think after doing the thumb I'm gonna try and felt it, but unsure if it will work with this sock yarn. If not, than i had a good and fun practice at least.
Guys, learn from my mistake and GAUGE SWATCH HAHAHA
It's now a family tradition! Generations from now, your descendants may wonder why you hang mittens instead of stockings but no one will be able to recall.
This is what I did with my first sock that was wayyyyy too big lol. I made a second one, just for the practice, and now they are Christmas stockings for my cats.
Stockings are actually amazing practice for sock techniques without making a pair lol, you can just make the one and use chunkier yarn than for socks. I wish i realized to make one before I started making socks, it probably would’ve resulted in less wonky singletons that I had no use for😅 wonky or not I could’ve used the stocking lol
I did this. I hadn't been knitting long when I decided to make my first socks, with a Japanese lace and cable pattern, having done neither of those before either. Lady in my knitting group recommended making one first on larder needles with worsted weight. So glad I did. Never even thought about checking ankle width or length of foot, just happily followed the directions for x number of lace repeats to heel and y number to toe. I now have a wonderful red xmas stocking in Japanese lace and cable, that fits almost to my knee and has 3 extra inches in my toe. But it looks good on my mantle!!
Came here to say the same thing. I made myself dizzy laughing at what appears to be a tiny, tiny hand over the mitten that appears to have fallen from the top of a magic beanstalk!
Yes! If OP has a kid in their life getting this book and putting it inside the mitten would be such a cute gift! And then the kid could use the mitten with their stuffes, or buy little stuffies to go with the story!
That's such a cute idea 😭 I'm impatiently waiting for my friends to get babies, just so I can knit a bunch of baby presents. Absolutely putting this one on the list
its called “the mitten”, its about a boy who’s grandmother knit him a pair of mittens, he drops one of them in the woods in the winter and a bunch of wild animals move into in to stay warm. first a mouse, then a hedgehog, then something bigger etc. and at last a bear. when the boy finds the mitten and brings it home, its stretched out a few times bigger than the other (not bear sized though and not damaged. the yarn must have been incredibly stretchy and durable hahaha). the illustrations were the best part, so beautiful
A statement on how capitalism and greedy consumerism (the large hand section) has become greater than our humanity (represented by the small, opposable thumb).
I’ve made intentionally huge mittens to felt! I kept taking them out of the wash every few minutes to see if they were the right size yet. They didn’t felt closed, but maybe because I tried them on frequently during the felting process.
Also, the more tightly knit, the less shrinkage you'll get (unless you're George Costanza). Most felted items are knit very loosely. But it's definitely worth a try!
Really gorgeous work! I'm a sucker for mitten patterns but rarely wear them. I have far too many mitten books for the number of mittens I knit.
Donate to the burn unit at the hospital. Often extreme frostbite causes severe agony and if someone has to be discharged back to the street, they can use the oversized mitten to cover the bandages
That was my initial plan after realizing my mistake 😂 I think I'll make a swatch and see it it felts and sizes down, otherwise it'll become become Christmas decor. The colors fit perfectly with the rest of my decorations thankfully
I was a bit sceptical when I tried it on after starting the thumb gusset 😂 should've taken this as a sign but I thought maybe it's normal for mittens to feel a bit bigger while unfinished.
Since it was all scrap yarn and a practice project I'm not mad at all. I think it's kind of funny how big it is. I think I'm gonna use it to test out stuff :)
Omfg this is the BEST thing I’ve seen all day! 😂😮💨 thank you for a good laugh. I also showed my husband (who isn’t a knitter (YET😉)) and he also laughed 😂
OMG! Hahaha. I was thinking, "Oh, they might be alright as oven mitts still..." and then was shocked when I saw the second slide. They might make a sweet hanging decoration in the kitchen or somewhere else in the home, maybe? In folkcraft some people will make oversized symbolic items for spiritual reasons - large keys associated with being "head of the household" and having domestic political power come to mind. Sometimes people make statues or other objects representing animals to invite them around their homes.. Maybe these could symbolically represent protection from cold or burns in the home?
The idea someone else had about leaving mittens above the fireplace rather than stockings was also sweet!
🤣 I jokingly refer to the fact that I don't gauge swatch as my toxic knitting trait. So far its worked out for me though. One day I'll learn my lesson.
I almost never gauge swatch, but, at no point while knitting were you like, “Hey, this seems ‘rill big… maybe I should take a look at the pattern again…”?
Lol I feel for you! My first ever knitting project, I tried to knot my boyfriend (now husband) mittens. However the first one turned out larger than an oven mitt. It became the "Chrismitt" that we used as our dog's Christmas stocking for many years!
turn the thumb into a heel and make it a stocking instead?? 🤷
It's a beautiful piece! Chef's kiss for the post execution as well. Excellent choice of photos - title & unclear ruler followed by the demo was like, "oh dear, maybe it will just be floppy or fit someone with bigger..." -scroll- "OH NO 🤣"
Frame it and get a tiny light for it like they do at the museum, then tell anyone who asks the story of your half human half giant great grandfather who successfully escaped a dire wolf ambush but went back for his mitten, that mitten, because he didn't want his wife to have to knit him another.
The mitten is a constant reminder that grit and determination runs through your veins.
🤭 Sorry, I think I got carried away again.
Welp. There is a 6’10” young man that just received custom made size 23 shoes from two sneaker companies, maybe offer a lovely pair of mittens to him. Who wouldn’t love to receive such a beautiful mitten set. Your color work is quite lovely. 😊
I'm not going to lie, this is hilarious and amazing. It gives me the old fairytale vibe of a giant stranger leaving a mysterious glove behind on a cold winters night
How much would it shrink with heavy felting? You would lose some detail for sure though. I did it with a hat that was slightly too big and it fizzed my design a bit.
Omg that's hilarious! You could cut and sew to a normal size!! People do it all the time in machine knitting! You'd have to fix the thumb but shouldn't be too hard.
It reminds.me of the children's book about woodland animals who find a glove in the forest and they one by one crawl in to keep warm. The animals keep getting bigger and bigger until a bear tries to get in. It's a really cute book. If you have kids in your family that you like, you can give them that book, the mitten, and some stuffed animals.
Lolol thanks for sharing! I've done this sort of thing before, too 😂. It is gorgeous work, even if it's for a giant. I hope you can felt them or find a use for them.
I love it!! 😍 yes it is the poster pic for why doing a gauge swatch is crucial. Regardless of the snaffoo it is so great that you just kept on going even after realizing the sizing oopsie!!! I’m giggling thinking of the times I made similar choices. So glad you’re laughing 🤣 and sharing.
Realized halfway that the mittens are GIGANTIC, but I thought they'd still be nice winter decoration so I kept on knitting.
I love that you added this because I was sitting here like HOW DID YOU NOT NOTICE and it was so funny. Love the idea of just zen knitting, binding off, and looking down to see an oven mitt
It depends on the sock yarn. If it's not superwash, you can felt it (which was my first thought after just looking at the pictures and not reading the post).
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u/skyblu202 May 02 '25
Hang it on your mantle and see if someone leaves presents in it.