Sometimes I forget that mittens exist outside of storybooks. In my head, they belong to those picturesque, all-white, deep-winter wonderlands — which are (thankfully) totally foreign to my existence. But the nightly news the past few days, along with my Instagram feed, have reminded me that the world is full of people who need, wear and knit mittens. And as it happens, there have been a lot of great patterns released lately. These six are almost enough to make me wish for a snow day —

1. Classic Mittens from the Purl Bee (free)

2. Icy Water by Muraka Mari (free)

3. Adiri by Julia Trice

4. Knoll by Michele Wang

5. Jagged Ridge by Kiyomi Burgin

6. Pinion by Véronik Avery

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