living in the woods and making stuff

About 5 years ago I made a pair of fingerless mitts, adapted  from the pattern in Weekend Knitting, by Melanie Falick (one of my favorite knitting books). I knit them with Limbo super wash wool, and wore them all the time. I mean every day, or every other day throughout the winter. They are the most handy things to have if you are ever knitting, playing music, typing, or doing anything that requires the use of fingers in a cold environment. Last winter I dropped one of my mitts in to the wood stove, and decided that I might finally need a new pair. Of course that was last winter… I have continued to wear the same pair, one mitt shredding apart for this fall and winter. Last week I gave the remaining in tact mitt to a friend. Now it was really time to make a new pair! Today I had a little time off, and as it was really really cold outside, I spent a good amount of the day curled up by the fire, knitting. Oh how cliche…

After careful consideration, I was able to write the exact pattern for my mitts. (Because I had them for so long, I was rather attached to the exact design.) The mitts are knit back and forth on straight needles, using short rows to shape for the hand. It is a very simple pattern, with a bind off/cast on hole for the thumb, and a three needle bind off.

I added a row of single crochet at the top, and around the thumb, and two rows of single crochet at the wrist edge. I knit the sport weight yarn on a size 4 needle to give the finished product a firm, slightly dense feel. The tighter gauge helps the material hold up to lots of use.