Volcanoes and no purling!

I kind of want one for myself... 

I have a volcano loving nephew. What better to make for him than - drum solo - volcano mittens! Also a great excuse to test out the "no purl garter stitch in the round". I don't hate purling, but I purl slower, and since I move my hands and fingers more when I purl, it hurts if I do much of it. I Russian purl faster, but traditional Norwegian yarn is not very Russian purl friendly. It untwists when I purl, which makes it difficult to knit through the back loop when I knit stitches that were purled on the previous round or row.

Bonus trick: A rolled edge makes mittens easier to take on and off. 

You knit with two threads, one on the inside for the knit stitches, and one on the outside for the purl stitches. When you have knitted a round, you simply turn the work and knit from the inside, just like knitting short rows.

No purl garter stitch in the round

1. Knitting from the inside.
2. Knit the last stitch, drop the thread on the outside.
3. Turn the work, pick up the thread that is hanging on the inside.
4. Start knitting!
5. Just a few more stitches left before the turn.
6. Drop the thread, turn your knitting.
7. Pick up the thread that is hanging on the outside.
8 Knit one round with the outside yarn. 

Of course I failed to follow the instructions twice before I realized that it is paramount to leave the outside thread ON THE OUTSIDE when turning the work. I kept putting it on the inside with the other thread when I turned the work, which left a hole in the knitting at that place. Not pretty. And not what the method promised! When I finally got it, everything went smoothly. I haven't finished the second mitten yet, and no washing and blocking done, but I think that with a wash and some wear, the hardly noticeable line will disappear completely. 

The pattern is from Nøstebarn, but you can use any pattern you like and just modify. I got the inspiration from a pin on Pinterest. (Links to pattern. It's free. And Ravelry link.)

Other mods: I added a rolled edge to ease taking them on and off for kids. When picking up stitches for the thumb, instead of picking up one stitch on each end of the thumb I picked up two, K2tog., twice. I also twisted the stitches I picked up. Result: Just a teeny tiny hole to seam.