Once upon a time there was a little boy who loved Pirates

Once upon a time there was a little boy who loved pirates. Now this is not really odd nowadays but we are talking pre-POTC here. So although the other kids got to wear t-shirts and backpacks with their favorite superheroes, firetrucks, ponies or princesses, it was really hard to find anything with pirates. We got really good at making do with paper eye patches, cardboard swords, striped t-shirts, bandannas and painted on moustaches. When winter came and the pirate obsession was still going strong, I thought hey, I'll try my hand at making some piratey mittens. This was before Ravelry was a thing as well or I totally would have just downloaded something. Looking back, I'm totally glad that I had to figure it out on my own as it was the very first pattern that I successfully designed.

The Dread Pirate Toddler

So my very excited son wears his new Jolly Roger mittens to school with pride, so happy with his new treasure. Later that day when I go to pick him up he is a bundle of tears as his new mittens are gone. Not lost. Gone. Worse then gone. Stolen. Well my first response was anger and indignation, as who would steal obviously hand knit mittens from a child? But once I had a chance to really mull it over, I thought, well, somebody must have thought they were pretty cool to motivate them into an act of mitten piracy. A second pair of Jolly Roger mittens were knit and that pair was fiercely protected and worn until worn out. Then a third pair of Jolly Roger mittens were knit in a bit larger size, and again I was flattered that the child now a teen would still want to wear mittens made by mom, especially since now pirate themed stuff was everywhere. Then a few more pairs were made on request by friends of the teen, surprising me yet again.

Pirate Skull and Cross Swords Mittens

My son has traded mittens for work gloves, and his love of pirates has led him to a career at sea (both making me proud and concerned at the same time - LOL!). He still cherishes hand knit clothing and every time I see him he is sporting a thick wool hand knit sweater, some even with patches sewn over moth holes as he loves them too much to give them up.

I have gone on to create many more patterns, even publishing and selling some, but the pirate skull mittens pattern was the first and will probably always be my favorite. Although it has taken a long time to get to this part of my journey, this pattern was the catalyst and I think its managed to still be fun and fresh. Each year in December I plan on publishing a pattern for free. In 2024 it was George Giraffe mittens, which are still quite popular and in 2025 I decided to share the Jolly Roger. You can download the free pattern either on my website or on Ravelry. I hope you enjoy making them, I know I did. Every time.