Ah yes you say, “I made your Muckle Mitts and I love them, but I have holes at the corners of the thumb, what did I do wrong?”
Nothing…as Isolda, who has been knitting for over 40 years, since she was a tiny girl in Germany said “There are always holes. We always have holes, even in school we had holes. There are just holes there. We know that. We sewed them up, we still sew them up”.
And that is usually true…the holes are just…there. And yes, you take the tails of your yarn and sew them up.
Above First snug up the yarn from the outside, around the hole. You know, follow the stitches along and snug things up with the tip of a tapestry needle.
Above Then turn inside out and using the existing ends if they are long enough, begin to sew. These ends are, typically for me, short. You should try and leave longer tails to give your something to work with. If you can’t work with too tiny tails, use a strand of your Main Color yarn about 8-12 inches long.
Above Now begin stitching carefully around the hole, taking little stitches skimming through the back side of the stitches. You don’t need to poke through to the front like a quilter would.
Above Take small stitches circling the hole, and gently snug things up.
Above Do it with both yarns, then weave in the ends as usual.
Above Like so.
Above Ta Da! No Holes. Now these babies need some serious blocking. Look at that bloated ribbing. Heavens! I’ll wash them lukewarm water with a mild soap, rinse in water of the same temperature, gently press the moisture out, shape my mitts into right and left hand, then dry flat.
Tutorials in the Afterthought Thumb Series:
