GLOVING IT

Last year an artist friend of mine commented on how her hands got cold in her studio and how it would be great to have a pair of fingerless gloves.

Always on the lookout for a knitting project and having just discovered a fairly new knitting store, Looped Yarn Works, close to the office, I had a great excuse to shop! I ended up knitting her a pair of fingerless mittens out of a really cool yarn. (Sorry, forgot to take a photo!)

Since knitting those mittens, I've put some serious thought into knitting gloves. My grandmother knit gloves. I remember that she used safety pins to hold the stitches for each finger. It seemed intricate--and fascinating. How did she do that? So in the back of my mind I've always thought about knitting gloves, but they seemed out of reach. Sweaters were more to my comfort level.

Well all comfort must be tested, so a couple of months ago, I tried my hand at a pair of fingerless gloves. (Getting close, Grandma!) I checked out some patterns on how to do the fingers and then set off on my own.

Ah, you are thinking, was that a good idea? Shouldn't I have gotten familiar with the "how to" before sprinting off on my own?

Perhaps. But all of the patterns I saw used sport weight or heavier yarn and I had my heart set on using sock yarn. Smaller needles, smaller stitches, less bulky ... an entirely different experience.

The first digit to be knit was the thumb, which was done by adding stitches. You have to keep the thumb "hole" open while continuing to knit in the round until you get to where you start the fingers.

The fingers were a bit tricky, but once I got the hang of it, they moved along fairly well.

I had a ball of Berroco Sox metallic (color 1366, Mangosteen)  that I was thinking of using for socks, but decided it might make a pair of fun gloves. The first glove was for the left hand and it turned out not too badly, so I followed the pattern for the second. Too late I found that I'd knit another left hand glove! It was obvious as there was a front and back to the glove (cable on the back, which doesn't come out very well in this photo). Also, I really did not want to rip it out down to the thumb.
Fortunately it doesn't take a lot of yarn to knit a glove. I now have two lefts and one right. A pair and then some! During Hurricane Sandy when just about everyone in the DC area was home, I took time to work out the pattern. Click here for the PDF.

glovingly yours,

Reah Janise