Osborn Fiber Studio

For day 2 of our month-long Advent-season pattern-reveal party, I have another pattern inspired by ferns. Meet Fernhands, a pair of mittens with mirrored ferns to match Fernhead.

In this book, you will find that most of the patterns are parts of a set. Often we knitters will just knit something we love, without bothering to think about how it goes with the rest of what we’ll put on! So we end up gloriously mismatched. I have absolutely no problem with this, but I also find matching accessory sets very fetching.

To make these mittens, I used the same fern graphic I had developed for the hat, but it’s mirrored. A happy accident that I did not discover until my models started wearing them: put the two fiddleheads together, and they make a heart!

The palm side of the mittens features a simpler pattern of more symmetrical, small ferns, This makes the inner half somewhat less complicated.

Another feature you’ll find in this book: every pattern is featured in two colourways. The blue-backed colourway I named “Frond.” The second colourway for this hat-and-mitts set is more autumnal, with a fiery red background in four shades of Milarrochy tweed, and a slightly dryer fern in three shades. It’s called “Spore” for a different stage in a fern’s life cycle. I did not add the embroidered accents to this colourway; in my opinion it had enough going on.

When creating complex an intricate fair isle motif like this, it’s worthwhile to think through your technique for the best possible result. For example, I strongly suggest knitting fair isle mittens inside out. This will help you keep your floats longer so your mitten doesn’t end up undersized. I’ve given detailed notes on this and other technique suggestions in each pattern.

As far as sizing goes, both of these accessories are given in a single size. Fernhead is a fairly slouchy length that can be knit tighter or looser to accommodate many sizes of heads. To lengthen Fernhands, you’ll need to add length just above the cuff, so swatch – or use Fernhead as your row gauge swatch!

Whether you try the “Frond” or Spore” colourway, or curate your very own, I hope you’ll consider making a set of colourful Ferns to keep you warm this winter.

Thanks to Rebecca Lovering for knitting the Spore hat sample, and to Sarah Hawthorne for knitting the Frond mittens sample. Thanks to Marikah Sanguin for modeling the Spore set, and to Stringbean for modeling the Frond mittens.