Yesterday I found a two needle mitten pattern that I thought I should try. I seem to always have a problem with four needles, especially having loose stitches where the needles meet. So I figured using only 2 needles might make my mitts look better.
The biggest downfall to two needle mittens is the seam along the thumb and the edge. If it weren’t for the seams, I would love knitting mitts with this method. Another is knitting the thumb before the rest of the mitt. So as you knit the thumb, the edges/sides of the mitt are put on placeholder needles (I used DPNs with blocker on each end) and because you’re working a stockinette stitch you have to keep rearranging the needles. This might be avoided if I used those huge safety pins. But if not it’s a hassle. Lastly, these mitts turned out smaller than those knit on four needles even though I used the same amount of stitches and the same needle size.
However, there are some perks. I was able to whip up these ones much quicker than with DPNs, half a day knit time max. I also find that it looks cleaner (like the stitches look more neat ) with two needles. Maybe it’s because I’m still quite clumsy with the DPNs and they aren’t always held steadily.
Take a look for yourself, I have photographed both side by side.
I will most likely make a few pairs for family and friends using the two needle method. Once I become an expert with DPNs, those will probably become my favourite method of knitting mittens.
Have you ever knit mitts with two needles? Which is your preferred method?
Happy Knitting,
