After the October Yarnbox containing Fiber Hound’s yarn were shipped out, my friend and owner of Annie Yarn, Annie Riley, began designing a pair of mitts with the two skeins of Afghan Hound. She set out to design a colorwork pattern with the two colorways, Sirius and Hushpuppy, that would gracefully feature both colors as well as a striking design.
Annie's version of Saethwr in Hushpuppy and Sirius
“The word saethwr is Welsh for archer and is pronounced (roughly) sigh-THOOR. As I looked at the finished design, what immediately came to mind was archery, and therefore, an archer. I tossed around the idea of simple naming them Archer Gloves, but I felt it was too boring. So I looked up various translations of the word and settled on Welsh.
The shaping in the rows, made with well-placed decreases and increases, creates arrow-like stripes pointing toward the knuckles as you alternate between two yarn colors. Ribbing on the under side provides plenty of stretch for a snug yet comfortable fit, and the gusseted thumbs allow for range of motion while still being easy to knit.”
I was very eager to start my own pair of mitts with Every Dog Has Its Day and Old Yeller, a combination I found surprisingly beautiful.
The cuffs start out with a 1:1 ribbing and transitioning into stockinette. On the front side, the pattern starts a decrease and increase routine that results in a chevron design with the back side being horizontal stripes. After completing the desired amount of stripes, a common thumb gusset is introduced, which is the first time the pattern differentiates between the left and right hand. The mitts are finished with the color they started with and completed with a simple bind off. The best part is that the mitts don’t require blocking and can be worn right away!
These mitts were a ton of fun to make, and simple enough for me to be able to work on while distracted with other things. I was also able to make them fairly quickly which makes them a wonderful weekend project. I’m very excited to finally wear these gorgeous mitts out this winter! You can purchase the Saethwr pattern here.
