I originally designed these mittens for a friend who lives in Colorado and frequently goes hiking in the Rockies (lucky!). I wanted to knit up a colorwork landscape to match those he might see on just such a hike – a lake slightly ruffled by a breeze, a mountain range, a few wisps of cloud, and a beautiful sky full of stars. The palm design makes me think of what all those stars would look like reflected on the lake at night. The best part about the colorwork on these mittens is that it is done with mosaic knitting, which makes it incredibly easy and a breeze to knit through. Every time I knit something mosaic, I can’t wait to see what the next row will bring (and the next, and the next…) and, before I know it, I’ve finished my project! I love how quickly it knits up and how beautiful, stretchy, and squishy the finished product always is. Have you ever been hiking in the Rocky Mountains? Even if you haven’t made it out there yet, once you knit this up you can bring the Rockies with you wherever you go.

If you haven’t yet experienced the magic of mosaic knitting, never fear! This is a great pattern to learn how to knit mosaic with - detailed introductions to mosaic knitting and mosaic charts are provided, along with full written-out versions of each chart.

Check out my Starlight Mountains Hat and Starlight Mountains Cowl if you’d like a matching set! They can all be purchased together at a discount in the Starlight Mountains Mosaics eBook.

Techniques Used with Tutorials Provided:
Mosaic Knitting
Kitchener Stitch
Backwards Loop Cast On

Yarn Used:
Malabrigo Yarn Rios
(Worsted / 10 ply; 100% superwash merino wool; 210 yd 192 m per 100 g skein)

Main Color (MC): Pearl; 1 skein
Contrast Color (CC): Azul Profundo; 1 skein

Needles:
US 5 / UK 9 / 3.75 mm DPNs
A 32” (80 cm) or longer circular needle can also be used to work the Magic Loop method.

Notions:
Stitch markers, yarn needle, waste yarn or stitch holder

Yardage Estimates from Sample:
MC: 83 yd (76 m), 42 g
CC: 59 yd (54 m), 28 g

Final Measurements:
Circumference: 8” (20.5 cm),
Total Length: 9” (23 cm),
Cuff Length: 2.5” (6 cm),
Thumb Length: 3.5” (9 cm)

This pattern has been tech edited and test knit.

I would like to extend a very special thank you to my fabulous technical editor, tricotedit, and my wonderful, helpful test knitters, SpinningSandy and susdbella. Grazie mille!