I enjoyed making the popcorn hats I shared with you the other day and I really wanted to make matching fingerless mitts. I thought the hat and mitts would make a nice gift set to give for Christmas. After experimenting I came up with a pattern. It took a bit to get the pattern and gauge to fit nicely, but I’m pleased with the end result and the most important thing is the girls loved them.
I used size US size 7 needles and the same yarn as the hats.
Bark Soft & Comfy Fingerless Mitts
It is getting colder outside and in. Soon I will have to give in and turn on the heat. I really hate to admit summer is really over and fall has arrived. The leaves are turning and falling. It is really a pretty time of year. Before you know it winter will be here in full force with declining temperatures and inches of white snow. I do enjoy the changing seasons.
It is time to pull out the hats, scarves and gloves. Time to take inventory. I need to ask who wants what and I need to find out what color the kids new winter coats are. They grow so fast! I need to trace their hands so the mittens fit – or are they too big for mittens?
Fall is the perfect season for fingerless gloves and mitts. For this pair of mitts I used Patons Silk Bamboo Yarn in a cocoa brown color called Bark. It is a DK weight yarn that is 70% bamboo and 30% silk. The skeins are 2.2 oz./65g/102 yds. I love the feel of the yarn, so soft and comfy! Unfortunately I needed 2 skeins to complete 1 pair of mitts. The total weight for both mitts = 2 1/2 oz. This pair was made exactly like my Berry Frappe Mitts. You can find the pattern there. The color matches the cocoa brown legwarmers. I like how you can wear the cuff down or rolled up. I showed you both ways in the photo. The fit is perfect and again so soft and comfy to wear!
Fingerless gloves and mitts seem to have gotten very popular over the last few years. They come in a variety of styles. Some prefer a mitt without a thumb gusset and some like a mitt with a thumb gusset. Others choose the glove type without the finger tips or thumb tip. And then, there are people who like their gloves to only be missing a couple of finger tips or the thumb tip so they can text.
The patterns and designs are even more varied. Everyone has their own likes and wants. I’ve made all types and styles over the last few years. Just like hats, my family wants more. Now they are becoming picky! They know what they like and want. One thing is for sure, they all seem to like and use this type of glove and mitt.
I made myself a pair of fingerless mitts with a thumb gusset last winter. I used a DK weight yarn on size US 2 needles and I knit them in the round. I don’t like seams. I also like a tighter knit for warmth. I am very particular about my thumb gusset and I find some are not as comfortable as others. I also don’t like the cuff ribbing to hit my wrist bone.
One of my girls tried on my pair of fingerless mitts and asked for a pair just like them. They are so soft and comfortable. I didn’t add any frills, cables, or fancy patterns. I just made a basic mitt without finishing it off. The trick is getting the glove to fit just a little snug to your hand and end with a couple of rows of ribbing before your knuckles. The pictured fingerless mitts are the pair I made for myself. I used Caron Spa yarn in Berry Frappe. It took 1 1/2 oz. of yarn to complete the pair.
This is how I made them: Cuff: With size US 2 dpn’s I cast on 42 stitches and ribbed (k1, p1) for 3″. I then knit 2 rounds even before starting to shape my thumb. (If you want a little looser cuff, CO 44 sts. and rib for 3″. Then knit 1 round and decrease 2 sts. in the next round.)
Shaping thumb gusset: knit 22, M1, k1, M1, k19. Knit 5 rounds even. Knit 22, M1, k3, M1, k19. Knit 5 rounds even. Knit 22, M1, k5, M1, k19. Knit 5 rounds even. Knit 22, M1, k7, M1, k19. Knit 5 rounds even. Knit 22, M1, k9, M1, k19. You now have 52 stitches. Knit 3 rounds even.
Decrease for Thumb: Knit 34, slip the last 13 stitches you just knit onto a stitch holder and knit the remaining stitches. Next round: Knit 21. Turn your work and cast on 3 stitches. Turn back around and knit the remaining 18 stitches. You are now back to the original 42 stitches.
Knit even for 15 rounds (1 1/2″). Rib (k1, p1) 4 rounds (1/2″). Bind off in rib.
Thumb: Slip the stitches from your stitch holder back on 2 of your US size 2 dpn’s. With a 3rd dpn pick up 5 stitches where you had cast on the 3 stitches. Knit 1 round even. Knit 13, k2 tog., k1, k2 tog. Then rib (k1, p1) 1 round. Bind off in rib.
Make one more mitt the same way and you have yourself a comfy pair of fingerless mitts. Enjoy!
KLC Creations 