Felted mittens

After a long knitting hiatus I got the idea to knit mittens to be felted. I took the idea and the pattern from the newest Novita syksy 2009 magazine. I was inspired mostly by the new yarn Novita Huopanen Mix, which is supposed to look soft and velvety after felting. And of course with the winter looming just around the corner I can really use a pair of mittens.

It took me 3 days to knit these:

The size is humongous - they actually reach my elbows - but the felting at 40 degrees is supposed to shrink the knit by 40%.

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This is what came out of the washing machine:

The mittens are really different now! I suspect that they shrinked by at least 40%. Before felting the mittens looked long, but now they are more roomy around the hand than lenghtwise. The result is a bit baggy, especially the thumb has too much room, and the lenght is better for my boyfriend than for me. The part for fingers is a tad short for me (bf has shorter fingers than I do). It may be that he will be the one to wear these...

Now that I've gotten my knitting groove back - and this really was an ideal (re)starting project as it was only knit stitches all the way through (It also helps that the stitch structure is in no way visible in the finished object.) - I think that I will move on to Kainuun kukkalapaset. It will be interesting to plan an exciting colourway for those. But the pattern is so beautiful that I suspect that almost all combinations look gorgeous.