Slip-Stitch Mesh Fingerless Gloves

Slip-Stitch Mesh Fingerless Gloves

The idea behind this pair of fingerless gloves was simple; not everyone likes to knit on double pointed needles, but even the dpn-adverse should be able to enjoy a nice fingerless glove. And as far as these bad boys are constructed, we'll begin by working the thumb, then we'll make the body of the glove, and then we'll put them all together!

Thumbs up, if you will...

Sizes: smaller (for a hand roughly 7 1/2" - 8" in circumference at the base of the thumb) and larger (for a hand roughly 8 1/2" - 9" in circumference at the base of the thumb) - directions for larger size will follow those for the smaller size in parentheses

Yarn: Berroco Vintage (52% Acrylic, 40% Wool, 8% Nylon; 218 yards [200 meters]/100 grams); #5120 Gingham - one skein

Needles: One set of straight needles in size US 8 (optional: another set of straight needles in size US 7)

Notions: Tapestry needle

Gauge: 18 stitches = 4 inches

So, as I mentioned, we'll begin with the thumb. And, if desired, here's your chance to use a smaller gauge needle, if you want the thumb to fit a little more tightly. Either way, the thumb will look better if you knit on the tighter side of things through the short rows. Anyway, cast on 14 stitches (16 for the larger size) loosely, and then purl one row across. And then we'll work the following (notice that you will be working short rows from row 4 - 12. There's a nice tutorial on the technique here, if you're rusty):

Water Lilies Cowl

Water Lilies Cowl

Somewhat unbelievably, even after making the Razor Shell Fingerless Gloves and the Staghorn Fingerless Gloves out of my single skein of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine, I still had a bunch left. And because I love to pair variegated yarns with similarly-colored single-color skeins, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to use up the Crystal Palace yarn I originally bought for the Starry Night Cowl. Long story short, the Water Lilies Cowl uses two sock weight yarns, a slip stitch color pattern, and a simple striped rib to make a nice, closer fitting design whose top portion is entirely reversible, for drape.

A close-up of the slipped stitch pattern.

Yarn: Crystal Palace Yarns Panda Superwash (51% Bamboo, 39% Superwash Wool, 10% Nylon; 186 yards [172 meters]/50 grams); #2004 Mint Print - 1 skein (color A), Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine (50% Superwash Wool, 20% Super Fine Alpaca, 30% Nylon; 433 yards [400 meters]/100 grams); #12177 Kaffir Mix - one skein (color B)

Needles: One 20" circular needle in size 2

Notions: Tapestry needle and stitch marker

Gauge: 30 - 31 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette

Using your color A yarn, cast on 180 stitches, place marker, and join in round. Next, purl 5 rows for the edging. Then, knit one more row. And then, it's time to begin our first pattern, which is Corn on the Cob Stitch from page 54 of Barbara G. Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns. And it goes like so:

Chevrons & Cables Hat

Chevrons & Cables Hat

Before I get any further, I should warn you - this is not the ideal yarn for this hat, if only because I needed about 102 yards of it rather than the 100 yards in a single skein (luckily, I had a bit left over from the Porcelain Moon Cowl). Of course, if you ignore the yardage, this cotton/wool worsted weight blend makes a pretty excellent lighter-weight hat, and the cables stand out crisply in the smooth texture. The Chevrons & Cables Hat is also kind of a riff on the Peaks & Cables Hat, since both use a lace pattern and a cable pattern to nice effect.

The finishing.
It's nice, in my opinion at least...

Yarn: Classic Elite Yarns Solstice (70% Organic Cotton, 30% Wool; 100 yards [91 meters]/50 grams); #2346 Faded Teal – two skeins

Needles: One 16" circular needle in size US 6, one 16" circular needle in size US 8, one set of double pointed needles (dpns), also in size US 8, and one cable needle (cn)

Notions: Tapestry needle, stitch marker

Gauge: 18 stitches = 4 inches 

Using your size 6 needle, cast on 92 stitches, place marker, and join in round. Knit one inch in a * k1, p1 * ribbing, and then switch to your size 8 needle. And now that that's done, we'll start on the main pattern, which is a combination of Lace Chevron from page 202 of Barbara G. Walker's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns and Elliptical Cable from page 180 of Barbara G. Walker's A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns.

Row 1 and all odd rows: * p2, k2 stitches through their back loops (k2-tbl), k4, k2-tbl, p2, k11; rep from *