Fingerless Mitts

Can you believe that all these fingerless mitts have been knitted using the same basic pattern?

They all use 3.25mm needles.

They all start with a cast on of 45 stitches.

Designed by Sue, aka Woollen Wave, these mitts are stretchy and fit a range of hands from teen to adult so you can knit a family of fingerless mitts to keep everyone's hands warm - perfect for home working and when you're out and about.

Our shop samples use Socks Yeah DK, Rowan Alpaca Classic DK and Armscote Manor Black Welsh Mountain DK.

The fourth is a new shop sample using 2 strands of Opal 4ply sock yarn held together which is close to a DK thickness.

As you can see it's easy to modify the pattern to suit yourself.

For the brown/black mitts there's a (K2, P1) rib at the wrist.

For the turquoise mitt Sue used Socks Yeah DK and add a twisted stitch which is simple to work and gives a lovely mock cable texture across the front of the mitt.

The green mitt is knitted using Rowan Alpaca Classic DK. I made a longer length wrist section (20 rows) and no ribbing.

The marled mitt is made using two strands of Opal 4ply sock yarn held together - a great way to use up small amounts of 4ply yarn leftover from socks and shawls.

I used a (K2, P1) rib at the wrist and fingers.

This mitt was fun to make with Opal 4ply mini balls. For a pair of mitts you’ll need at least five 10g balls. To make a pair of mitts that look similar split the 10g balls into two balls so each colour is used in both mitts. If you make the balls different lengths (I did it by weight using my kitchen scales) then the colours will blend more rather than the two strands running out at the same time.

This fingerless mitt pattern has been available for free in the Pittenweem shop for a while and it's now available to download too!

Two patterns are listed. One that makes the twisted stitch mitts (you need to knit a right and a left mitt) and one that makes the plainer mitts. But you can mix and match all the design elements for the wrist, hand and fingers.

Each pattern has some suggestions on what you can do.

You only need between 90 and 120m of yarn. Obviously if you knit a long wrist and finger section you will need more. 

I do think they'd look great striped so you could use up small amounts of DK yarn.

I knitted my mitts using the magic loop method. I used a 3.25mm 60cm long circular needle. Other people prefer a longer needle.

Magic loop is a way of knitting a small circumference on long circular needles. I use this technique all the time... for knitting sleeves, socks and hats and also the body of garments.

There are lots of benefits:-

• A long circular needle makes it easy to quickly try something on as there is space for the stitches to spread out. For the mitts this allowed me to get the right length on the wrist and for my fold back cuff. (It's also helpful for hats or socks and jumpers).
• You're not relying on having the correct length of circular needle or access to double pointed needles.
• You need less needles! A popular shop sample is our baby Flax Light. To knit this jumper in the round you need lots of needles. First you need two thicknesses - a set for the rib and a set for the body. Because it is knit in the round the length of these needles matter - your stitches need to comfortably fit around the needle. This can mean buying different lengths for both sizes of needle and double pointed needles in both sizes for the small sleeve circumference. By using magic loop you can just need the two thicknesses but in one length - 100cm. You can knit the yoke, body and sleeves using just these two needles.

If you fancy trying magic loop Very Pink Knits has a good video tutorial here showing you how to cast on and this one shows you how to work your rounds.

We're also happy to give you a demo in the Pittenweem shop.

I've also just knitted myself a pair of mitts using Rowan Felted Tweed Colour, in the new Topaz shade

These have a long wrist cuff like the shop green mitts but I added a ribbed section at the fingers (15 rows) which can be folded back or worn up for extra warmth.

I wanted a (K2,P2) rib so I decreased 1 stitch (K2tog) to get a number divisible by 4.

This style does use more yarn. I used about 140m but luckily Felted Tweed Colour has 175m on a ball so it's still a one ball project!

A shop printed pattern is free with any purchase or you can download them here.

Mock Cable Mitts and Simple Mitts by Sue Holt and The Woolly Brew

Measures - varies and fits a range of hand sizes, teen to adult.

Yarn - 90-120m of DK yarn (140m if you want long wrist and finger sections)

Needles - 3.25mm DPN or circular needles for magic loop. Click for our circular needle range. Or however you knit a small circumference!

You will also need two stitch markers and wool needle.