Knit in our dreamy, quick-knitting Pouf yarn, our Cumulus Mittens are irresistibly soft, like dipping your hands into a puffy cloud and drawing them back out wrapped in warm, downy fleece. You just need a ball or two of Pouf to knit this pattern in any size, for everyone from toddlers to grown-ups!

Cumulus Mittens | Purl Soho

You knit the Cumulus Mittens in the round starting at the ribbed cuffs—extra thick and warm thanks to Pouf’s airy spin—then knit the rest of the mittens in stockinette stitch. You’ll make easy increases to create the thumb gusset, then place the thumb stitches on hold to finish knitting the palm. You shape the mitten tip with two spokes of decreases, but using such a lofty yarn means you don’t need to taper the thumb. Just cinch the top closed when it’s long enough!

Cumulus Mittens | Purl Soho

Every ball of Pouf is a jumbo nimbus of fluffy fun—incredibly light, wonderfully soft, and a pure delight to knit. This super bulky yarn is literally spun around air, made with an innovative technique that whips a mix of 50% alpaca and 50% fine highland wool into a floaty strand with a hollow core. That cushion of air at the center and a lush, foggy halo on the surface combine to make Pouf uniquely insulating… Perfect for toasty warm mittens!

Cumulus Mittens | Purl Soho
Cumulus Mittens | Purl Soho

Pouf‘s palette of 30 gorgeous colors will put your head in the clouds, including the luminous sunset colors we chose for our Cumulus Mittens: Pink Bisque, Peony Pink, and Cork Tree. You’ll just need one bountiful 100-gram ball for all but the largest mitten size!

Cumulus Mittens | Purl Soho

A one-ball project in a beautiful yarn, and all easy knitting? You won’t have to look hard for the silver lining here. Pick your favorite color of Pouf and cast on for a beautiful pair of Cumulus Mittens!

Yarn lovers, if you adore the yarn used in this project, you’ll love exploring all of our other yarn collections! Discover over 45 thoughtfully designed yarns in nearly every natural fiber and in every spectacular color you can imagine. Only available here at Purl Soho’s online yarn store, where every skein is created with care and your creativity in mind!

Cumulus Mittens | Purl Soho

Pattern designed and written by Purl Soho designer, Gianna Mueller. See even more of Gianna’s work on her Instagram!

Story written by Andrea Lotz for Purl Soho.

Want to print this pattern? On desktop, find the “print” icon in the right margin, and on mobile, scroll to the end of the pattern for it. Use the on-screen instructions to remove anything you don’t want to print!

Materials

Cumulus Mittens | Purl Soho

GAUGE

13 stitches and 21 rounds = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

SIZES

Toddler/Kid (Adult Small, Adult Medium, Adult Large)

  • Finished Circumference at Palm: 6¾ (7½, 8, 9¼) inches
  • Finished Length from Cuff to Tip: 10 (11½, 11¾, 13¼) inches, with instructions to modify

SAMPLES: The Peony Pink mittens are the Toddler/Kid size, and the Pink Bisque and Cork Tree mittens are the Adult Small size.

NOTES

DOUBLE POINTED NEEDLES OR MAGIC LOOP

This pattern includes instructions for working on either double pointed needles or on long circular needles, using the Magic Loop method. We have tutorials for both techniques, so just pick the approach you prefer!

For more help, visit our How To Knit With Double Pointed Needles Tutorial and our Magic Loop Tutorial.

PATTERN

CUFF

Cast on 22 (24, 26, 30) stitches, dividing the stitches among 4 double pointed needles or arranging them on circular needles for Magic Loop (see Notes). We used a basic Long Tail Cast On.

Place unique marker and join for working in the round, being careful not to twist the stitches.

Round 1: *K1, p1, repeat from * to end of round.

Repeat Round 1 until piece measures 2 (2½, 2½, 3) inches from cast-on edge.

WRIST

Work in stockinette stitch, knitting every round, until piece measures approximately 3¾ (4, 4, 4¼) inches from cast-on edge.

GUSSET

Set-Up Round: K11 (12, 13, 15), place marker (pm), yarn over (yo), pm, knit to end of round. [23 (25, 27, 31) stitches]

Round 1: Knit to next marker, slip marker (sm), knit 1 through the back loop (k1 tbl), sm, knit to end of round.

Round 2: Knit to end of round, slipping markers as you come to them.

Round 3: Knit to next marker, sm, yo, knit to next marker, yo, sm, knit to end of round. [2 stitches increased]

Round 4: Knit to next marker, sm, k1 tbl, knit to one stitch before next marker, k1 tbl, sm, knit to end of round.

Round 5: Knit to end of round, slipping markers as you come to them.

Repeat Rounds 3–5 one (2, 2, 3) more time(s). [27 (31, 33, 39) stitches]

Next Round: Knit to next marker, remove marker, slip next 5 (7, 7, 9) stitches onto stitch holder or scrap yarn without working, remove marker, and joining two sides of Gusset together, knit to end of round. [5 (7, 7, 9) stitches on hold for Thumb; 22 (24, 26, 30) stitches on needles for Palm]

PALM

Continue in stockinette stitch in the round until piece measures approximately 3 (3½, 3¾, 4) inches from end of Gusset, or until piece measures 1¼ (1½, 1½, 2) inch(es) less than desired total length.

TOP OF MITTEN

Set-Up Round: K11 (12, 13, 15), pm, knit to end of round.

Round 1: [Slip slip knit (ssk), knit to two stitches before next marker, knit 2 together (k2tog), sm] 2 times. [4 stitches decreased]

Round 2: Knit to end of round.

Repeat Rounds 1 and 2 one (1, 1, 2) more time(s). [14 (16, 18, 18) stitches remain]

Repeat Round 1 two (3, 3, 3) more times. [6 (4, 6, 6) stitches remain]

Cut yarn, leaving an 8-inch tail. Thread tail onto a tapestry needle and draw through remaining stitches. Pull taut and bring needle to inside of Mitten to weave in tail.

THUMB

Place 5 (7, 7, 9) Thumb stitches onto 2 double pointed needles or long circulars.

Joining yarn…

Set-Up Round: K5 (7, 7, 9), then pick up and knit 1 (1, 1, 2) stitch(es) from Palm at base of Thumb. [6 (8, 8, 11) total stitches]

Place unique marker and join for working in the round,

Continue in stockinette stitch until Thumb measures 2 (2½, 2¾, 3) inches, or to desired Thumb length.

Cut yarn, leaving an 8-inch tail. Thread tail onto a tapestry needle and draw through remaining stitches. Pull taut and bring needle to inside of Thumb to weave in tail.

FINISHING

Weave in ends.

Make a second Mitten, and block both as desired.

Share your progress and connect with the community by tagging your pics with #PurlSoho. We can’t wait to see what you make!

Cumulus Mittens | Purl Soho
Cumulus Mittens | Purl Soho

LEARN ABOUT POUF + ALL OUR BEAUTIFUL YARNS

Pouf makes this knitting pattern feather-light and soft as a kitten! This very special yarn is made by spinning a fluffy 50/50 mix of alpaca and wool into a hollow strand that traps a cushion of air inside, making it toasty warm and incredibly lofty. You’ll also love how it knits up into a gorgeous, textured fabric, thanks to its slightly thick-and-thin spin. Cast on with this big, beautiful ball of fun… 100 grams gives you a lot of yarn for a super bulky-weight yarn, so you’ll go far with a few!

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Looking for more inspiration? Explore all of our knitting patterns (including tons of free knitting patterns) and knitting tutorials, buy one of our many knitting kits and yarn bundles, and shop for beautiful yarn. We have over 35 gorgeous natural fiber yarns in 100’s of magnificent colors, designed to bring integrity, beauty, and joy to your next knitting project and only available at Purl Soho!