Early Morning Fingerless Mitts

As promised, here is my first knitting design. I said months ago that I'd be posting it "soon."  I guess "soon" is relative...

Early Morning Fingerless Mitts
By Erica Knudson

Early Morning Fingerless Mitts
By Erica Knudson

www.handmadebyerica.blogspot.com

I designed these mitts over a few early mornings after my son was born. They are a simple, stockinette, fingerless pair that can really show off the patterns in a variegated yarn. They are a size Women’s Medium, but made in stockinette and without fingers, they should fit a variety of sizes.

Materials:

150 yards worsted weight yarn (photo here in Cascade Paints)
Size 4mm DPNs
Stitch Markers
Waste yarn for holding stitches


Instructions (from the bottom up):

Cast on 40 sts, divide among three or four needles (your preference) and join, without twisting, in the round. If you prefer to use a stitch marker to mark the end of the round, place it here and move it up with each row.

Arm:

Work k2, p2 ribbing for 12 rounds. – 40 sts

Next row; work k2, p2 until 1 st from the end. Slip purlwise onto the R needle, (remove the end-of-round marker) replace purl st on L needle, and k2tog. – 39 sts

Knit 7 sts, *k2tog, k6* until the end of the row. – 35 sts

Knit in stockinette stitch until the piece measures 6 inches (about 27 rounds of stockinette). – 35 sts each row

Thumb Gusset:

Knit until 1 st remains, pm, cast on one, pm, k1. – 35 sts and 1 st between markers

Knit one round even.

***Knit to next marker, sm, M1, knit to next marker, M1, sm, k1. (The first time you do this, you will end with 3 sts between markers). Then, knit 2 rounds even.

Repeat from *** until you have 15 sts between markers. (I did not do the 2 even rounds after that.)

Hand:

Knit around once, placing the 15 thumb gusset sts (those between the markers) on to the waste yarn or stitch holder.

Knit even for 10 rounds.

Next row; k2, kfb, *k7, kfb. Work from * until the end of the row to end with 40 sts.

Work k2, p2 ribbing for 7 rounds (maybe longer if the wearer has long fingers).

Bind off loosely in pattern.

Thumb:

Transfer the 15 sts from the waste yarn onto 3 needles. Join new yarn in-the-round and pick up 4 sts along the gaps. – 19 sts

Knit one round even until 2 sts remain, k2tog. – 18 sts

Knit 3 rounds in ribbing; k2, p2 until last 2 sts of round, k1, p1.

Bind off loosely in pattern.

Finishing:
Weave in ends, using thumb ends to reinforce the sts around the thumb. Block if desired.

The second mitt is made identically.

Enjoy!

Key:
k = knit
k2tog = knit 2 together, a method of decreasing
kfb= knit front & back, a method of increasing
L = left
M1 = make one stitch, a method of increasing
p = purl
pm = place marker
R= right
sm = slip marker
St, sts = stitch, stitches