I’ve shared with you before how much I love knitting the mittens in Terri Shea’s book, Selbuvotter, and I think I’ve managed to distinguish what it is I like about these mitten designs over other Scandinavian or Baltic designs.

:: Typically, Selbu designs are knit with two colors – dark and light. I love the contrast. Using two colors allows me to focus more on the pattern. ::

What makes a mitten a Selbuvotter is the combination of structure and color design – Selbuvotter

:: A Selbu mitten thumb starts at the base of the hand, and allows the cuffed portion of the mitten to be slim rather than wide. Increases are done every two rounds and thumb stitches are set aside when there are enough stitches for the width of the hand. I prefer this to a peasant thumb ::

:: Selbu mittens feature a different design on the back of the hand divided by a one- or two-stitch patterned vertical line, followed by a different design on the palm. I particularly like this feature of Selbu mittens, as I always have a comfortable resting/stopping point when I’m knitting during times of frequent interruptions. The palm pattern is usually a smaller, shorter repeat ::

And now that I know how to knit the thumbs (and have the required DPNs), my other mittens will have thumbs soon:

:: That brings me to another feature of Selbu mittens that I enjoy – the fit! I was worried at first that they were too small, but I learned from my pink and white mittens that they do grow a bit when washed; the hand portion fits more like a glove than a mitten. The pointed fingertips and thumb actually provided a bit more room without being floppy. ::

Now it’s time to knit some of the mittens in Selbustrikk. I already chose the mitten design I want to knit: Barnevott 10: Child’s Mitten.