Thrummed Mittens

(my Dad's thrummed mittens are the blue and white spotted ones...Xmas gift 2008)
Thrummed mittens are some of the warmest hand gear out there. They are oversized due to the wool roving inside and some people don't like how they look as a result. If you have problems with cold hands, these could be a solution.
They are kind of fun to knit, especially in public. Folk freak out when they see them! (This can be a little scary too if they are blah blahing loudly in a language you don't always understand and come up fast and loud from behind you, startling you in a coffee shop.....just so's you know)
People think its hard to make thrummed mittens but it really is NOT. They are dead easy to knit for any knitter. Its just a matter of learning a wee technique and making a lot of thrums before starting so that they are ready. However, they can be a bit tedious because they do go slower than just knitting up plain mittens. The finished product is worth it, though.

Alison's Thrummed Mitten Pattern (written for woman's medium)

You will need a 100 gram (4 oz) skein of worsted weight yarn, 50 to 60 grams (2 plus oz)of wool roving, and appropriately sized DPNs(or circulars for magic loopers). I used Briggs and Little Heritage yarn and 4 mm dpn needles.

Cast on 36, 1x1 rib for 18 rows, increase to 45, knit two more rows to the first thrummed row.

I go every 3 stitches, ie: thrum, 2, 3, thrum , 2, 3.. for a row. The next thrummed row is done like this: 1, thrum, 3..1, thrum, 3.. so that the thrums are offset. There are 3 knit rows between my thrum rows (thrum row, knit the thrums through the back loop row, knit row, knit row.. and repeat).
Continue to thumb placement (use EZ's thumb trick). Place the thumb in row 3 of your thrumming sequence and it will not disrupt your patterning. Continue for the rest of the hand. I used 11 stitches with the waste yarn.

When you are a scant inch or a pinch less from the finished length you need and are just before your last planned thrummed row: In the row before the thrummed row (row 4 of the thrumming sequence) decrease by K1, K2tog. Thrum the next row as scheduled and all the thrums will fit in pattern perfectly . Knit next row tbl as usual. The next TWO rows are decreased by K2tog all around. This leaves you with 8 stitches to finish off by running the working yarn through them and cinching off. I was very pleased with the shape and the fact that my thrums stayed in pattern. If desired you could have placed 3 thrums in the second to last row for denser tip thrummings.

Take out thumb placement yarn and pick up the thumb stitches, plus one at each end to make 24 thumb stitches. Knit one row and commence thrumming sequence until almost to the right length. In row 3 of your final thrum sequence K2tog around, row 4(final row) K all, break yarn and finish.

This is for a women's medium width. To up size or down size, increase or decrease your stitch count by 3's.