Holly clusters are a joy – all those curves and points together. Last Christmas I walked down to the parking lot at Dan’s lab and picked a few leaves off one of the landscaping hollies (I made sure they didn’t all come from the same place and leave a bald spot.)
I wanted to figure out how the leaf curved. Once I’d cut a dart in it to make it lie flat it took me several swatching days to knit a version, and the backward arch wasn’t as pronounced once I’d sewn it in place. But there it was, a holly leaf. Add a few berry baubles and the mittens would be self marked for where the leaves needed to be appliqued.
This mitten pattern is written in 5 sizes – why? Because my friend with tiny hands sighed that it’s hard for her to find mitten patterns that fit – without using tiny needles, or switching yarn – and my darling aunt with piano player hands sighed that it’s hard to find mitten patterns LONG enough for her hands – so I wanted to include lots of sizes.
The written instructions for both hands are spelled out, no reverse shaping required. Which makes the pdf rather long – however you only need print the charts in your project’s size – and if you aren’t fond of charts, the instructions are written out next to them.
You’re welcome.
The Holly Mittens $7.oo 
You can also purchase them on Ravelry 
Didn’t my sister-in-law Shannon Guest do a beautiful job on the photos?
