Yesterday I knit three rounds plain after the two decreases. Now I will decrease in the middle of the needle with the picked up cast on stitches. If you SSK on the left hand, knit two together on the right so they match.
The decreasing for the thumbs is one of the more interesting parts. That is probably why I leave the thumbs until last. Also, if you are making mittens to use up yarn, if you run out of the main color, the thumbs can be made in a contrasting color.
At this point, I got stalled again and left the mittens until October 4. Fortunately, knitting keeps very well!
Exactly how to shape the decreases depends on the shape of the thumb of the person they are made for. For mittens for younger children (after the two decreases at the begging of the gusset if you picked up and knit a stitch) you can often knit straight until you close the thumb. For these mittens, I am knitting three rounds between decreases until the knitting is over half way up the thumb nail.
I decrease at the ends of each of the three needles (SSK on the first end, knit to together at the end), knit one round plain, then decrease at either end of the two needles that have the most stitches every round until there are 8 stitches total remaining. I then divide the sticthes between two needles and use kitchener stitch to weave them closed. Finally I bind in all the loose ends.
Another approach to finish a thumb is to decrease every 4th stitch, then every 3rd stitch, etc. each round until there 20 to 40% of the original stitches remaining, then run a thread through them. I think the kitchener finish wears better and is more comfortable.
Next they go into the hot suds and sit until the water is cool (overnight) to remove the spinning oil (see socks blog). I then put them through a gentle cycle for a wash and rinse using cold water to raise the nap a bit and dry them. If you are a beginning knitter, don't get discouraged if your work looks rough, often a wash or two will make them nice and smooth.
They fit my "ladies large" hand well, plus I find that they fit inside the grey mittens in sport weight wool I have been knitting along with these.