Simple Muffatee for a Gentleman, 1859

Adapted from Mlle Riego's The Winter Knitting Book for 1859.  As given, the pattern is for a 2-2 ribbed tube (knit flat and seamed), which is then joined again to make a two layer muffatee. I knit in the round, on the machine, rather than flat, and switched the 2-2 rib for 3-1 mock-rib due to my on-going difficulties with the ribber attachment.

 

Muffatees in original color scheme.

I maintained the color scheme in the original for my first attempt (white with colored stripes), and reversed it for the second. A third pair was made in a solid color in a 2-2 mock rib; while they turned out fine, I think the stripes add a lot of interest to the finished appearance of the muffatees. I used a faux Russian join to make the color changes in the first two sets, and found it very easy to do (especially as the double layering meant the ends didn't need to be trimmed further). To close the tubes, I used Kitchener stitch (grafting) to join the live stitches on either end, rather than hemming each separately and then joining them together. 

Overall, I'm quite pleased with the result. I was surprised at the finished size (60 rows, after doubling, is rather a long muffatee), but will have to wait for feedback from the wearers. I did make the other two pairs slightly smaller after seeing the first set: the second striped set are only 48 rows on their finished length, and the solid ones 50. I reduced the length because I was thinking of these as primarily worn over the wrist and the full length would thus cover most of the forearm. However, I'm now wondering if they aren't meant to be worn a bit higher, to cover the hand up to just below the thumb (as there's no slit for the thumb to pass through) as well as the wrist and part of the forearm. Looks like some experimentation is in order.