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The look of these quick and simple fingerless gloves is inspired in part by Tante Ehm’s wonderful Camp Out Fingerless Mitts, with that wide band of garter stitch around the knuckles. But for this I’ve boiled it down to the essence: a glove you can easily whip out in a bunch of colors or that any beginner can make. If you can cast on, knit, purl, and bind off, you’re golden. There are no increases or decreases; no picking up stitches. And for anyone who’s been wanting to try double-point needles, I think a simple mitt like this is a great place to start.
Old pros will think this is the equivalent of posting a recipe for PB&J, and will only care to know that I cast on 32 stitches on US6 DPNs. The ribbing is 2×2; about an inch at the cuff and 2 around the knuckles. The thumbhole is a 1.5-inch stretch that was knit as if flat, starting at the 4.5-inch mark, before the piece is rejoined in the round. Total length is 8″. (For the record: I lightly toast my bread, let it cool slightly so as not to overly melt the peanut butter, and then barely wave jam in the bread’s general direction, for a goopless sandwich. How about you?)
For my fellow beginners out there, I’m spelling it out in full detail below.
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P A T T E R N | queue it on Ravelry
These would likely be classed as M/L if sold retail. For a bigger or smaller hand, add or subtract to the cast-on count in any multiple of 4 stitches (needed for the 2×2 ribbing). So 28 or 36 would work equally well. If you want your gloves to be shorter or longer, or the ribbed sections to be different proportions, knock yourself out! You could even rib the entire glove. Just be sure you have enough yarn for whatever alterations you make. [Oct 2012: See also my fully ribbed Marl Mitts version.]
Materials:
- Approx 100 yards aran-weight wool (pictured is Berroco Blackstone Tweed in Wintry Mix)
- 4 double-point needles, size US6
- tapestry needle for weaving in ends
Dimensions:
Approx 7 inches around by 8 inches tall
Abbreviations:
CO = cast on
DPN = double-point needle
K = knit
p = purl
BO = bind off
Directions:
CO 32 stitches on one US6 DPN (see note above for alterations)
Divide stitches onto 3 DPNs as follows: Slide stitches to far end of needle. Slip the first 12 stitches onto another DPN (needle 1), then the next 8 stitches onto another (needle 2), leaving 12 on the original needle (needle 3). Join for working in the round, making sure stitches are not twisted around the needles*
Round 1: Holding your working yarn and tail together for the first 4 stitches and using a 4th DPN to knit, *K2, P2. Repeat from * until the end of the round. (Drop your tail after those first 4 stitches but do not cut it off. You can use it to keep track of which needle is needle 1. Whenever you’re back to the needle with the tail hanging below it, you’ve completed one full round.)
Repeat round 1, forming 2×2 ribbing, until piece measures 1 inch
Switch to stockinette: Knit all stitches, all rounds, until piece measures 4.5 inches, being sure to end with needle 3
Next row: Hold needle 3 in your left hand as if it were a straight needle to begin knitting thumb section back and forth. Slip the first stitch onto your free needle, then purl the rest of the row, ending with needle 1
Next row: Turn the work so that needle 1 is in your left hand, with the right side of the glove facing you. Slip the first stitch onto your free needle, then knit the rest of the row, ending with needle 3
Continue working back and forth in this fashion, slipping the first stitch on every row, until the opening measures 1.5 inches, ending with a purl row.
Rejoin for working in the round; knit two rounds
Resume ribbing, k2/p2, until piece measures 8 inches
BO loosely in rib pattern
Weave in ends
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*If you haven’t done this before, put your yarn and needles down for a minute and form a triangle in front of you with your hands — fingers and thumbs touching. Think of the side of the triangle formed by your two thumbs as needle 2. The fingers of your left hand are needle 1; the fingers of your right hand are needle 3. Now arrange your cast-on stitches into a triangle the same way, a triangle pointing away from you, with all of the stitches running along the inside of the triangle. Your working yarn and tail should be hanging from the tip of needle 3, the top right of the triangle.
