Ollie the Octopus & A Very Special Project

I realize that I've been missing from this blog for quite some time, but it's all for a good reason. I've been working on a very special project for a cause that is near and dear to my heart.

Long-time Itsy Bitsy Spider followers will remember that the way I got into the business of amigurumi design was a bit of an accidental trip. I was working as a technical writer for a Fortune 500 company when we adopted our daughter. My intent was to return to work once we had set up our family and continue along in my path. But my plans were interrupted when we started to discover that our child had some special needs.

It began with discovering her significant sensory processing issues and became a journey through early intervention, therapy, special education and more. There was no way we could afford for me to keep a job and pay someone to take her to all those therapies, so I left the Fortune 500 and picked up my crochet hook. That was nearly 10 years ago. Needless to say, there have been ups and downs, but I've enjoyed every part of this journey.

Along with my crochet, I started working for a little non-profit in the Cleveland area, called Connecting for Kids (CFK). CFK helps families (like mine) to find education and support. They have helped thousands of families and continue to do so through speakers, hands-on programs, and awareness projects.

Which brings us to Ollie. This year, CFK decided to focus on sensory awareness. Sensory issues were the thing that first made me say "ah-ha! There is something different about my child" - so they're very near and dear to my heart. Yet, SO MANY parents have no idea they're even a thing.

We worked with local occupational therapists to craft an awareness component, but we needed a friendly face to go with it. And that was where Ollie came in. We wanted to give the kids something to help them, but as a non-profit, funds were extremely limited... so I offered to donate a few crochet octopus dolls. That was almost a year ago.

Fast forward to today... we're making a difference. Ollie has been on TV, in the local news, and on the radio. We'll be passing out 750 of them over the next few weeks along with kits to help families understand sensory issues, and plan to work through the Cleveland area, family by family.

I've made the Ollie pattern a free download through the Connecting for Kids website. You're welcome to make them for your kids, grandkids, or even yourself. If you have the time and materials available, CFK could use all the Ollie donations you can send too. Think of each one of these as the difference between a child being scolded for something they can't control (like refusing to eat a family favorite food or wearing their coat indoors).

And thanks for stopping by after so long. It's been so nice catching up with you.

Super Simple Crochet Coffee Cozy

I promised myself I wasn't going to do this to myself again this year... but sure enough, it was the week before school ended and I had NO teacher gifts. And -- as one of the fun little bonuses of having a child in the special education system -- we don't just do "a gift for teacher and something small for the secretary..." We have the classroom teacher, the special education teacher, the morning aid, the afternoon aid, the therapists, the school secretary who has helped you as you signed out your child a dozen times (this month) and don't forget the awesome principal who has tirelessly advocated for your child. It's less of a teacher and more of a village.

Having recently fallen in love with a little, local coffee shop, I wanted to do something with coffee for the teachers and started looking for a free, simple coffee cozy pattern. I found lots, but I wanted a simple look as well as a simple pattern and that proved to be a bit more difficult combination. So, I decided to hook my own.

The end design is as simple as you want it to be (top-stitching and embroidery are optional) and whips up in the time it takes for me to wait for my kid in the carpool lane. Oh, yeah... and it's free.

I hope you all enjoy it and that it fits the bill for your last-minute gifts too. As an added bonus, I included a free, printable gift tag on the last page of the pattern. Just cut the tags and fold on the dotted lines to personalize your cozies!

Love this pattern? Please consider making a donation (see the button on the right) to help me keep the ideas coming! A girl has got to buy yarn to create!

Crochet Ear Flap Hat

I've had so many requests for the ear flap hat pattern shown with my free Amigurumi Thing pattern, that I just had to get it written up for all of you.

While the hat is shown here with my new Thing design, it is actually the exact same hat (minus pom-pom) that you have been seeing for some time now on my little pal, Kimchi the Yeti.

The pattern is a free download and can be used for your Things, Yetis, or even the odd Pullip doll. I don't have a Blythe for sizing, but I imagine it could be stretched to fit one of these dolls too. If you try it, let me know!

You can get the free pattern through Ravelry or from the free patterns page here on my website. As always, I'd love to see your finished designs and how you find ways to use this little hat!

#IHookedAThing

The title, hastily scribbled at the top of the page in my pattern notebook, is simple: “A THING.” At the time, I had no idea what it was, but it had to be made.

But, as I wove in the lose ends of the very first thing and presented it to my Little Miss, I discovered its purpose very quickly. “Bob,” as the first thing was named, was there to spread some love.

At this point, Bob gets picked up, carried around, and put down many time throughout the day. Every time that happens, Bob also brings a smile. And, it’s because of the smiles I see from Bob that I knew I had to offer this pattern freely.

I’ve made a few more things since Bob and realized that they’re really customizable. Honestly, I can’t wait to see what the world does with this pattern. If you make a thing of your own, I hope you’ll share with the hashtag #IHookedAThing

Little Miss and Bob

Oh... right... the thing pattern. For right now, you can get that through Ravelry (download now). I've got to run off and pick the Little Miss up from school right now, but I'll work on making it available around and about the usual places as soon as I can.

In the mean time, I hope you enjoy the things and I hope they spark your creativity. I also hope, like Bob has for my Little Miss, your things give you a smile and inspire you to spread some love (a basket of things would make a great donation to cancer patients, don't you think?)

Amigurumi Pals Bear, Bunny & Kitty eBook

This pattern has been a loooong time coming -- mostly because I kept finding "one more thing" that I just had to add. But patience has paid off because I finally hit the "publish" button this morning: the Amigurumi Pals: Bear, Bunny & Kitty eBook is here!

So, what's so cool about this eBook? It's a super-simple approach to infinitely customizable amigurumi! You get three animal forms with one simple body design; choose from a bear, bunny, or adorable grumpy kitty and follow the recipe to make up your new pal. When you're done, the eBook also includes instructions for custom accessories, including a little dress, bow, hat, scarf, and button-flap satchel.

Finish a sweet little girl bear and then change up the ears and accessories to create a bunny boy. The possibilities are endless and it's entirely up to you!

As always, the patterns are available through Ravelry, or right here from my website for just $5.00. If you prefer Etsy, you can also get the pattern there for 99 cents more.

Happy crocheting!

Little Penguin Amigurumi

I volunteer at my daughter's school library about twice a month and love hearing about what the children are reading. I remember going to the same school library as a child (it seemed so much bigger back then!) and poking through the shelves with all the treasured titles. It was one of my favorite times each week.

The current school librarian is an amazing lady. A former music therapist and experienced children's librarian, Mrs D. always has fun activities to go along with the week's titles and great challenges on deck to get the kids into sections of the library they wouldn't otherwise discover. If it were up to me, Mrs D. would have an unlimited account to buy stuff for the school library. But I guess the school does need things like textbooks and physical education supplies too.

"Penguin and Pinecone" -- seriously... go buy this book!

This week's volunteer time introduced me a to a new title, "Penguin and Pinecone" by Salina Yoon. It was love at first sight. I mean come on... a penguin who knits a scarf for his pine cone friend? What's not to love?

Mrs D. had me cutting and assembling penguin paper dolls for the kindergarteners and first graders to use during imaginative play. They were adorable, but flimsy. We were both a little sad that they probably wouldn't hold up for one class -- let alone six.

I headed home and pulled out the hook. In next to no time, I had my first draft. I showed it to my daughter and asked what she thought -- and boy, did I get some constructive feedback! In fact, this design represents the FIRST collaborative pattern I've ever done with my daughter. I'm pretty excited about it!





After delivering a batch of penguins to the school library (if you're anywhere 50 miles from our school, you probably heard the librarian's squee), I got busy on a penguin pattern to share with the world. You can get the new pattern in my usual outlets. Download it here or from Ravelry and you'll pay only $2 for the pattern. Or you can get it from Etsy for 99 cents more*.

Want the full pattern details? You can find out what stitches, hook, and yarn you'll need here. And happy crocheting!

Changes for European Union Customers and Reduced Pattern Pricing

Kimchi gets his "mouse on" to help out

I'm lucky to be able to offer my patterns through several different venues, including Etsy, Ravelry, and KnitPicks. With the new European Union (EU) value-added tax (VAT) going into effect, I've had to make some changes to the way I do business on these sites -- but I think that in the end, it's going to make for a more consistent experience for most of you.

So, what's changing?

Well, for starters, I can't afford to use instant downloads for my EU customers anymore and I'm terribly sorry about that fact. According to what I've read, the only way to avoid collecting the VAT for EU member countries is for me to manually email my pattern files. And, unfortunately, the only site that currently supports this is Etsy.

What will happen to EU customers?

My Ravelry pattern shop and the "buy now" links from my web site are now set up to redirect all EU customers to Etsy. This is going to be a good-news, bad-news situation for you guys, but bear with me.

My policy for selling through different venues has always been to add the fees on to the base pattern price. So, if my base pattern price is $2.75 and PayPal takes 25 cents, I charge $3.00. Ravelry and KnitPicks charge me next to nothing in fees, so the prices you see in those venues are base price + PayPal fees. Etsy, unfortunately, charges quite a bit more.

Previously, I considered Etsy a luxury and tried to divert as much traffic through my web site and Ravelry as possible. My Etsy prices were a reflection of that. But now that I'm forcing EU traffic through Etsy, I understand the need to offer a fair pricing scheme. To help with that, I've decided to reduce pattern prices across Etsy to be more reflective of the Ravelry and KnitPicks pricing.

Yes, unfortunately, my Etsy prices are still a bit more than if you were to purchase on Ravelry or KnitPicks, BUT after reviewing the models for adding VAT to digital items, I think that you will see that the pricing is consistent with what you would pay once the VAT is added anyhow.

Why not sell on LoveKnitting?

Many pattern sellers are making the jump to LoveKnitting, a UK-based pattern and supply site that has offered to collect VAT for sellers like me. I did evaluate the site, but determined that the addition of VAT along with the fees LoveKnitting charges (they actually charge MORE than Etsy) would make it impossible to price my patterns fairly. Simply put, even with the extra fees on Etsy, I can give you a far better price there than I would be able to give you with LoveKnitting.

What happened to Craftsy?

While Etsy and Ravelry are both offering some kind of solution to help sellers process the VAT changes, Craftsy has done absolutely nothing. As a result, I have removed all my "paid" patterns from this site and am leaving only the free downloads. Hopefully, they will come up with a solution in the coming months that will allow me to use them again.

Ok... you said there was good news... what is it?

Lower prices on Etsy

As I went through my patterns and looked at sales, I noticed several that weren't selling well. I have either reduced the price on those patterns or made them free downloads. Likewise, I have reduced many of my Etsy pattern prices -- so if Etsy is your preferred place to shop, you'll notice some significant discounts.

I'll be highlighting some of the new free patterns in the next few days.







I hope this clears up the changes you have been seeing with my sales and I will be working hard to see if I can come up with a more seamless solution that doesn't involve forcing customers to purchase at certain sites. Hopefully, I'll have more news to report soon!

Can't Help but Love Kimchi

He was kind of an accident and I never really expected to fall in love, but fall in love I have with a little guy who calls himself Kimchi.

The yeti pattern sat in my book for almost a year before I got around to publishing it and when I finally did write it up, I was so convinced no one would buy it that I quietly self-published the pattern (I originally intended it for a call for submissions for a yarn catalog).

Since then, Kimchi has been at my side, a little partner in crochet crime and a reflection of my inner mischief maker. Those things I wish I could do but don't (because, well, I have kids and have to set an example)? Kimchi does them.

He also shares my delight for kimchi. It's funny -- I used to hate the stuff, but now I can't get enough of it! Yum!

Anyhow, as the holidays near and Kimchi and I finish up the gifts, we wanted to let you know that we're thinking about all of you in bloggy land and wish you the brightest of holidays. We also wish you much health and happiness in 2015.

Cheers!

P.S. If you'd like o make up your own little yeti friend, you can get the pattern here. Please share your photos with us too -- Kimchi would love to have a few pen pals! You can find us on Facebook and on Instagram.

No-Sew Halloween Patterns!

You only need to look at my pattern collection to realize that Halloween is my favorite holiday. There's just something about having a blank check to eat as much candy as you want AND play tricks on those who don't comply -- it speaks to me.

Unfortunately, having a child with significant food allergies puts a pretty big damper on the holiday. We still love dressing up and going out to trick-or-treat, but when she gets home, with her loot, we end up having to "trade" 90 percent of her haul for soy and dairy-free alternatives.

The classroom is no better. The class Halloween party ALWAYS focuses on food, and there are so many treats that my Little Miss has to miss out on. Since she started kindergarten last year, I've been trying to make that different for her: we give tiny amigurumi instead of cupcakes.

Of course, with a class of 20+ kids, who has time to sew all the little arms and wings? To answer that question, I've come up with some new, no-sew patterns. In fact, the only sewing on ANY of these three patterns is the optional embroidered faces (you could also paint or glue faces if you prefer).

You can find all three patterns through my usual sales outlets (Ravelry, Etsy and Craftsy) -- or download them right here on my website. The ghost and bat are $1 each and the pumpkin is free.

Happy Halloween!

The Little Yeti

My friends on Instagram have seen a lot of activity lately over one new little friend... a fuzzy little yeti named "Kimchi." Kimchi was one of those creations you whip up "just cause," but he quickly got lots of love from fellow Instagrammers. The Little Miss (who quickly yeti-napped Kimchi) thought that everyone should be able to have their own little yetis if they want one, so I set to work on a pattern.

And... after quite a bit of trial and error -- the pattern is finally ready! My new yeti pattern is designed for sport weight yarn and an E hook. It also uses a pet slicker brush to get that fluffy fur look (don't worry, I walk you through how to do it in the pattern.

Kimchi the yeti with -- you guessed it --
kimchi pancakes!

You can get your own copy of the yeti pattern through all the usual sources (Ravelry, Etsy, and Craftsy) or get all the details right here on my web site -- and start hooking on your own fuzzy little abominable monster today. In fact, you might want to make two -- these little guys are so cute, they have a way of being yeti-napped right out from under your nose!

The yeti-napper!

Rosie Roly Poly

This summer has been the summer of bugs... OK, maybe the summer of isopod crustaceans to be more precise. My daughter (the Little Miss) has been obsessed with finding all sorts of critters -- from daddy long legs to lightning bugs to the perennial favorite, roly poly bugs. Of course, we've had more than one discussion about why her new friends are NOT allowed to sleep in the house and more than one pout about having to return her newly-captured critters to the outside. I figured it was time to take mercy on her plight and give her a critter that was truly cuddle-worthy, and Rosie was born.

Despite her huggable size, Rosie is just a baby roly poly (or "pill bug," as we used to call 'em when I was a kid). The pattern is relatively short and works up in a couple of hours. You can choose to add the optional bow, or leave it off to make a boy roly poly -- even spice up the world of isopod crustaceans by making a one-of-a-kind colord roly poly -- the options are limitless!

As usual, the pattern file is available on Ravelry, Craftsy, and Etsy (please bear in mind that you'll pay a little more on Etsy to offset the cost of selling in that venue -- but you can take advantage of the instant download and credit card processing [no PayPal] there). Find out all about the new pattern here, or head to one of my shop sites to get started hooking your own "Rosie" now!

Sewn!

That's it. The last piece is sewn... the ends are woven in... and my massive undertaking of a granny blanket is FINALLY in one piece!

What started out as a year-long undertaking, became the worst WIP anxiety I've ever had, and resulted in 360 individually-pieced, 4-inch granny squares is finally a blanket.

Now to decide how to edge it........

Gifting: Spa Sets

We've been hosting a foreign exchange student for about a year now and have decided to keep her another year. After going back and forth with the natural family, it was decided that our Korean "daughter" would just stay with us for the summer (instead of flying home and back). Economically, it makes sense -- and with my own Little Miss home for a whole three months, I can use the extra pair of hands to help out. But it's pretty clear that the family back in Korea misses her.

I wanted to do something nice for our exchange student's mum ("oma." in Korean) -- to let her know that she's being though of and that we appreciate the faith she has in my helping to raise her child. So, we decided to send oma a happy box. We picked out a pretty new blouse and to top it off, I wanted to send something handmade that mum would appreciate. After a bit of searching, I settled on a spa set.

The wash cloth is a fan stitch pattern developed by RusticThreads on Etsy. I really loved the double-sided texture and they worked up super quick with about 75 yards of cotton yarn. With a little bow on top, they're the perfect gift!

I decided to add a set of six make-up scrubbies for oma too. At first, I considered making plain round ones, but eventually found a free little flower pattern on the Diva Stitches crochet blog. If you check out the link, she even has a coordinating pouch pattern that looks super cute.

All in all, I'm pretty pleased with how things came out -- and I'll definitely be stashing a few spa sets away for teacher gifts and whatnot.

What's your favorite gift pattern?

Gifting....

Despite the fact that I really want to get my blanket done, I can't ignore the fact that I'm getting a little overdue for some gifts.

One of the nicest thing about being a hand-crafter is that I can whip out the perfect last-minute gift in no time. Of course, finding "perfect" after you've been whipping out wonderful hand-crafted gifts for more than 20 years can get a little challenging -- have I done it already? How many more amigurumi does aunt Sally really need? And the msot challenging question of all... can I whip it up quick so that I can get back to all the other WIPs laying around my craft room???

This time around, I'm settling on "spa sets." The first one will be for our foreign exchange student's mum back in Korea. Then, I have my best friend's birthday coming up, some little end-of-summer-camp thank-yous, and a raffle prize for the nonprofit I work with. I found the most yummy stitch with fellow Etsian, RusticThreads, and while I had to modify the pattern slightly to get the size cloth I wanted, I'm pretty happy with the results (for those of you who want to know, I changed the foundation chain to 36 stitches).

I'd also love to do some coordinating make-up removers to go with the wash cloths, so if anyone knows of a good pattern, please let me know!

And along those lines, I would LOVE to know what your favorite gifting patterns are... I've got a BUNCH more birthdays coming up and it'll be Christmas before we know it (yikes! teacher gifts!).

Happy crocheting!

Oh, Invisible Seam... How I Love/Hate Thee

Being rather adventurous... and/or insane, I decided that I was going to try something new with this latest project. I have always wanted to try an invisible join and now I absolutely know why I never did it before...

It. Takes. FOREVER!

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, I invite you to take a like at this YouTube video. Note that the woman in the video is seaming a pair of bulky-weight granny squares. Me? I used sport weight yarn on my project and have no fewer than 330 squares to seam... each with 20 stitches per side. That, my friends, is a lot of sewing!

It's not all a loss, though. When you gently pull the yarn you're using to sew your squares together, the seam magically disappears. Seriously. For me, Every. Single. Time I do this -- it's magic. I just can't believe the black yarn is gone!

The other thing I love about this technique is how beautifully the colors can play together. There are no ugly stitches in some contrast color to draw your eye away from the two squares... only turquoise, and yellow... and pink... and...

And honestly, for those 20 stitches on each side of each square, I really get to just enjoy how the colors go together. As I stitch, I think about the colors -- if I've seen them together in nature... what they most remind me of... if I would wear an outfit that had those two colors in them. It's actually kind of fun.

So, tell me. Do you use the invisible seam technique? Do you love it? Hate it? Both? I'd love to hear your experiences!

WIP Anxiety

I joined up on the Crochet Mood Blanket project earlier this year and have been dutifully making my squares. OK, not so dutifully... I get behind -- then I hurry up to catch up, then I get behind again... lather, rinse repeat. In fact, I've notice that I haven't been able to enjoy my other projects quite as much because I'm worried about getting behind on my blanket.

Sigh.

And so, it was through this project that I learned a little something about myself. I have WIP Anxiety.

Unfortunately, I also have a lot of other projects in mind that I want to work on, but instead of that, I've spent the last month making these:

And now that these are all done, and I've laid this out:

... I have a MOUNTAIN of sewing to do. But at least I won't have WIP Anxiety anymore.

One-Piece Amigurumi Baby Bunny

Even though we're in the middle of yet another polar vortex, I can't help but to keep wishing and hoping that spring is just around the corner. I miss my lawn, the flowers, and the adorable baby animals -- especially my favorites, the sweet baby bunnies!

for some reason, the bunnies like to nest in our yard, and it's such a treat to discover their tiny little fluffy bodies, all snuggled up under the grass. I always want to scoop one out and snuggle it!

With spring (and Easter) fast approaching, I decided that this year, I would be ready for my bunny snuggling cravings -- with an adorable nest of my own. I wanted something simple enough that I'd be able to whip us a batch for my daughter to share with her friends, and spent several tries coming up with the perfect one-piece pattern for you. These bunnies are completely NO-SEW! Just add a few embellishments and you're ready for a snuggle full of squee!

The best part about the bunnies is that if you use an E hook as the pattern directs, you should easily be able to hide them in the larger-variety plastic Easter eggs.

The pattern is full of step-by-step photos and the clear instructions you've grown to love. Work up your own nest of bunnies for just $1.00 or pair it with my free Lil' Ducky pattern for a super Easter treat. You can't go wrong!

You can get all the details on this pattern from the pattern information page, or check it out on Ravelry.

I hope you enjoy this pattern as much as I do and cannot wait to see your bunnies. Happy crocheting!

Crochet Mood Blanket 2014

It's no secret that when I have a few minutes down time, I love surfing some good crochet porn on Instagram. Well, last week, I found this amazing project, started by a crocheter who goes by the Instagram name mummy_stacey, called #crochetmoodblanket2014.

This is exciting folks --  and it looks like it's going to be a lot of fun. The basic idea is that you crochet every day (or every week) of 2014, using colors to reflect your moods. You can do any design you want (most folks are doing some variation on a granny square) -- And you can pick any colors to reflect your moods.

Work-in-process is being shared on Instagram with the #crochetmoodblanket2014 tag and in a Facebook group that has rapidly grown to nearly 3,000 members. In fact, the WIPs are the most exciting part for me -- I'm being blown away daily by all the talented crocheters and finding new patterns I never dreamed of.

For my part, I'm keeping my pattern simple (just a 4-round granny with a SC edging). -- And I'm using Red Heart Designer Sport because somehow, I've managed to accumulate a rather extensive stash of the stuff. My squares are turning out to be about 3.25 inches, but I haven't sat down yet to figure out just how that's going to work into a blanket. I guess you could say that I'm "going where my mood takes me."

Our foreign exchange student, J, has also pledged to do a square a day and has been working really hard to get her grannies perfect. Having only learned to crochet a couple months ago, I'm really proud of her!

Right then... the pattern, if you like:

Round 1: CH 4. Join to first SC in CH with SL.

Round 2: CH 3 (counts as first DC). DC twice more, then CH 2. *Work 3 DC, then CH 2. Repeat from * twice more. Join to 3rd CH in initial CH 3 with SL. (4 DC clusters and 4 CH 2 spaces).

Round 3: CH 4 (counts as first DC and CH 1). *Work 3 DC, CH 2, 3 DC, CH 1 in next CH 2 space. repeat from * twice. Work 3 DC, CH 2, 2 DC in remaining CH 2 space. Join to 3rd CH in initial CH 3 with SL. (8 DC clusters).

Round 4: CH 3 (counts as first DC). DC twice more, then CH 1. *Work 3 DC, CH 2, 3 DC, CH 1 in CH 2 space. Then, work 3 DC, CH 1 in next CH 1 space. Repeat from * twice. Work 3 DC, CH 2, 3 DC, CH 1 in next CH 2 space. finish round by working 2 DC in next CH 1 space and joining o 3rd CH in initial CH 3 with SL. (12 DC clusters).

Round 5: CH 1. SC in same stitch and in each stitch and CH 1 space around, working 4 SC stitches in the corner CH 2 spaces. Join to first SC with SL. (60 SC). FO and weave in ends.

Hope to see you on Instagram and Facebook. Just look for ItsyBitsySpiderCrochet!

-- Almost forgot! If you're looking for something a little more challenging in a granny square pattern, I have a free 10-pattern granny square book available on Ravelry. Enjoy!

Winter Bird Pattern

Just when I thought all the presents had run out, I got another surprise in the mail today. The Knit Picks Under 100 Crochet Collection is finally available!

This collection features 10 crochet patterns that can be completed with 100 grams of yarn or less, including my own winter bird (featured on the back cover).

The pattern book has been in the works for about a year now and it includes boot cuffs, a couple of cute bags, wrist warmers, and even some yummy cowls! It's a great collection for winter stash busting and I can't wait to get started on a few of the projects.

Patterns and yarn are available through Knit Picks. You can also check out others' finished projects on Ravelry. Enjoy!

eBook: Instant PDF download
Print Book: 34 pages, soft cover

A Penny For Your Thoughts?

Even though I have been writing my own patterns since 2008, I'm still learning new thins every day. My Kids Gifting Mittens pattern is one such experience -- it's the first time I have ever written a pattern for multiple sizes.

When I wrote the pattern, I ran into a little confusion when I got to the thumb hole. Depending on the size mitten you were making, you would have either 18 (S), 21 (M), or 23 (L) rounds. The logical thing to me was to begin the thumb round at 24 (skipping rounds 19-23 for small and rounds 22-23 for medium). The pattern goes something like this:

Rounds 7-18 (7-21) (7-23): CH 1. SC in each ST around (24/30/36 SC). Join to first SC in round with SL.
 
Note: If you need a bit more length to your mitten, repeat Rounds 7-23 as needed.

Round 24: ... pattern continues ...

The reason I chose to do it this way is so that all of the round numbering would start in the same place after the thumb hole was made. This would avoid a clumsy numbering scheme through the rest of the pattern (where each round would have different numbers depending on the mitten size you're making).

I got some feedback from a kind customer yesterday that this was just a bit confusing. Her argument is that by setting all the mittens to "Round 24" at the thumb, it's hard to tell how many total rounds are in the project. We went back and forth a bit and her suggestion was do do something like this:

Rounds 7-18 (7-21) (7-23): CH 1. SC in each ST around (24/30/36 SC). Join to first SC in round with SL.
Note: If you need a bit more length to your mitten, repeat Rounds 7-23 as needed.

Round 19 (22) (24): ... pattern continues ...

The positive side of this change is that you know exactly how many rounds are in your project, but the negative side is that you end up with a round numbering scheme through the rest of that pattern that looks something like this:

Rounds 20-23 (23-27) (25-30): ...

Round 24 (28) (31): ...

Rounds 25-26 (29-31) (32): ...

You get the idea.

I'd love to get the feedback of some more experienced multi-size pattern writers/users. What do you prefer? Keep the pattern the way it is, or revise the round numbering scheme?

I'll put everyone who leaves feedback (either here on the blog or on my Facebook page) in a drawing to win one free pattern of their choice -- so if your email address is not on your Blogger profile, please make sure you leave it for me. Winner will be announced in the next couple days (depending on how quickly I get feedback).

Thank you!