Cold House, Warm Hands fingerless mitts Liza Furr
These fingerless gloves are great if you have some leftover yarn after knitting StevenBe's Wooly Mammoth Super Shrug--they'll keep your hands warm while the shrug keeps yourbackwarm. Gauge isn't too important for this because the ribbing stretches to fit many sizes of hands, but if you need to make them smaller or larger you can cast on fewer or more stitches--just make sure to cast on an even number.
Yarns:
° one super bulky yarn (less than 30 meters) ° one worsted weight boucle or one worsted weight nonboucle yarn plus one lace-weight boucle (less than 100 meters) Ised a green and purple super bulky Rowan Thick N T a dark green aran weight Cascade Highland Duo, and a lavender lace-weight boucle Kid Seta Noir. I liked the Cascade Highland Duo yarn for this because it's extremely soft, so it feels nice on the hands when you're wearing the finished product. Apparently the Kid Seta Noir has been discontinued, but you can find a list of recommended substitutes at http://yarnsub.com.
Notions
° size 11 needles suitable for working in the round (two circulars or four DPNs) ° size 7 needles suitable for working in the round (two circulars or four DPNs) ° stitch marker (optional but recommended) °rowcounter ° yarn needle for weaving in ends
Cuff
Holding all yarns together, use the Alternate Cable Cast-On (you can find it demonstrated & described at New Stitch A Day) to cast on 20 stitches onto the size 11 needles. I like this cast-on because it's very stretchy and it flows well into ribbing. Join to work in the round. (Obligatory warning about being careful not to twist it when you join it.) P1 K1 ribbing for six rows, or until your cuff is as long as you want it to be. Cut the super bulky yarn (leaving enough of a tail for weaving in) and tuck the tail into the middle to keep it out of the way. Hands Now you're only holding your two thinner yarns (or one worsted boucle yarn). With the size 7 needles, purl into the front of the first stitch and do not slip the old stitch off the needle. Bring your yarn to the back and knit into the back of that same stitch; now you can drop the old stitch off the needle. Continue around, purling into the front and knitting into the back of each stitch. At the end of the round, you have 40 stitches on the size 7 needles. P1 K1 around for 10 rows.
Thumb opening
P1 K1 around 1 row; when you reach the end of the row, turn the work and P1 K1 back. Continue back and forth in this way for a total of 16 rows. This is what makes the thumb opening.
Rejoining above the thumb
P1 K1 around for 8 rows. Your first row will cross the gap left for the thumb so you're once again going around normally.
Bind off
Use Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off to bind off four stitches, then \*cast on one stitch, bind off five stitches, repeat from star until you're done. Casting on an extra stitch every four stitches gives the finished glove a slightly wavy edge, inspired by Cheryl Niamath's Fetching fingerless gloves. Weave in loose ends. Wear with pride!
