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Fingerless gloves are perfect for spring and summer. If you are planning to knit one, it is quite easy and quick and always works easily with your stash. Fingerless gloves were preferred by fishermen and sailors to keep hands warm while not struggling with manual dexterity and in the 80s, it became a fashion statement. So, let's get started. In this blog, we’ll discuss how to knit fingerless gloves.
Before that let’s take a look at the knitting needles to craft a pair of gloves along with yarn and a pattern.
Knitting Needles - You can knit fingerless gloves on any knitting needles in your collection. Knit them flat with single-pointed or circular needles and join the seams to make a round. Or, seamlessly knit in the round with circular or double-pointed needles (DPNs), depending on your preference. For circulars, either choose a length smaller than the project circumference. Another option is the Magic Loop technique that requires an extra-long circular knitting needle. This works for knitting even the smallest circumference. Another advanced knitting technique is knitting with two circulars and having two gloves grow on the needle at the same time. DPNs make ideal tools for small projects but requires handling multiple pointy ends.
Yarn – A small and quick project, fingerless gloves can be easily knit with a small quantity of yarn often times found in your stash. Multiple colours or yarns can work beautifully for a fingerless gloves pattern. You can knit gloves with fine lightweight yarns or chunky wool depending on the look you want.
Pattern – A knitting pattern works like a map. It instructs the steps on knitting. There are multiple patterns to explore from. You can knit fingerless gloves without a pattern. If you worked on a pair of socks or even a hat, you understand knitting in the round and that is how you’ll knit the gloves.
To make things easier, we’ve a step-by-step tutorial for knitting fingerless gloves. Whether you opt for double pointed knitting needles (DPNs) or a pair of circulars, you might want to choose two sizes though. The smaller needles are ideal for the rib stitch edge while the larger ones are best for working on the wrist. Before you start, first knit a gauge swatch with the bigger knitting needle size and yarn.
Step 1: Cast on stitches on 3 DPNs or a circular needle length that is smaller than gloves circumference. The number of stitches can be calculated with the gauge swatch. Join your stitches in the round any method you prefer but be careful not to twist the stitches.
Step 2: Knit in the round a 2 x 2 ribbing pattern (knit 2, purl 2) until you’ve 8-10 cm of knitted fabric. For the next section opt for a garter stitch edge of 6-8 rounds and continue in stockinette stitch.
Step 3: When you reach the wrist, switch to bigger needles and continue to knit in stockinette stitch in the round for 2- 4 cm.
Step 4: Place a stitch marker at the beginning of your round for the thumb opening. Just write it down that for your second glove; the thumb opening will have to be marked on the opposite side. The exact stitch number will depend on the cast on stitches.
Step 5: In this step, you will be knitting in the round while increasing one stitch on each side of the marker in every third or fourth round. You can work any knitting increase with KFB (knit front and back) or YO (yarn over).
Step 6: Use a stitch holder to carry the increased stitches and the marked and continue to knit in the round. Be careful to avoid laddering of the connecting stitches.
Step 7: Knit for another 5-7 rounds, switch your needles to the smaller size and knit two or three ribbed edge (or any edge you prefer for finishing your glove). Bind off all your stitches according to your pattern, knitwise for knit stitches and purlwise for purl stitches.
Step 8: Pick up the stitches from the stitch holder on your knitting needle and additionally pick up six or seven new stitches from the edge behind the thumb stitches. Distribute them evenly on three DPNs. Now the double points are the best option here as you’ll only have a few stitches on hand.
Step 9: Knit 1 round in knit stitch, then continue 5-6 rounds in rib 2 x 2 rib pattern. Bind off the stitches, cut the thread, and weave in all your yarn tails.
Step 10: Craft the second glove like the first one.
With this tutorial you are ready to knit fingerless gloves. For spring you can make some leaf motifs or work with vibrant shades. Duplicate stitches with a darning needle can also be used for some interesting colorwork. With stainless steel knitting needles from the Mindful Collection you can enjoy smooth crafting. Choose DPNs or fixed circulars or an interchangeable knitting needle or even a needle set. Along with needles, explore knitting accessories that assist with smooth crafting.
Source: https://www.zupyak.com/p/3580727/t/how-to-knit-fingerless-gloves
