Pattern: Fingerless Mittens

It seems rather ironic to be writing about fingerless mittens on the hottest day of the year so far, but less than two weeks ago, I was desperate! My office has two temperatures: winter icy cold, or summer boiling hot. The cold radiates inwards to my desk from the outside wall. Even when the heating is on, it does little to counteract the drafts.

For years, I've had a pair of commercially made, acrylic [spit] fingerless gloves in my desk drawer, which I wear as a last resort. Because they have fingers, they make my fingers feel fat and heavy, and it is much harder to type accurately. When I finished the Berrocco socks, I decided to make these from the leftovers:-



Ingredients:-

35 grams leftover sock yarn - 4 ply or fingering weight*
2.5mm double pointed needles ("DPNs")

Garter Stitch Rib:-

Row 1: knit all stitches.
Row 2: *K2, P2. Repeat from * to end of row.

Methodology:-

1. Cast on 56 stitches and divide them over 4 DPNs: needle 1, 10 stitches; needles 2 and 3, 20 stitches each; needle 4, 8 stitches. Ensure the cast on row isn't twisted and join the yarn by knitting from needle 1 onto needle 4.
2. Place a marker at the start of your first row (I suspend a row counter from there).
   
3. Work in K2, P2 rib for 10 rows.
4. Rows 11 - 51. Work in Garter Stitch rib, ending with a first row.
5. Row 52: commence on the thumb hole. At the marker, turn back on yourself and work as if knitting flat. *K2, P2 until you get back to the marker.
6. Row 53: turn the work and knit until you get back to the marker.
7. Repeat rows 52 and 53 eight times.
8. Row 68: joining row. Slip the marker from the left needle to the right needle. Knit into the back of the first stitch on the left needle, taking your yarn over the needle instead of in the usual way, under the needle. You want to make this stitch as tight as possible. K1, *P2, K2. Work from * to end of row.
9. Continue in garter stitch rib for 9 more rows, until row 77.
10. Work in K2, P2 rib for 10 more rows (86 rows total). Cast off in rib.
11. Weave in your ends and you're done.
    

- Pam



* Thanks to the postal scale at work, I know each mitten weights exactly 16 grams. I didn't quite have enough yarn so used a couple of grams of Lisa Souza's Sock! in Ecru to finish off each mitten.