Short Fingerless Gloves.

First 3 rows.

Hey there! As I mentioned in my post here, I had decided to make my husband a pair of my Ribbed Fingerless Gloves. When working with him for the fit, I realized that the glove would not fit over his huge men’s watch. I decided to create a pattern that was shorter than my last one was, to accommodate his watch. He helped pick the yarn color (“olive drab”)  and with the sizing as I progressed.

So here is my pattern for:

Short Fingerless Gloves

 

Materials: 

Size 7 knitting needles

Gauge: 5 sts/inch (with ribbing), 7 rows/1 inch

Yarn needle to weave in loose ends

Synthetic yarn, low pill, of your choice; 100g, or 185 yds will make several sets.

Finished Size: 5 inches stitches long, 7 inches around

Pattern:
 

Using the long-tail cast on, cast-on 40 stitches.

Row 1-3: Knit a rib pattern by following K1,P1, ending on a P1.

Odd Row 3-13: Knit a larger rib pattern, K2, P2, ending on a P2.

Even Rows 4-12: P2, K2, ending on a P2.

Row 14: Bind off 6 stitches (for the base of the thumb hole; use a 7th stitch in the cast-off to have 6 completely done). P2, K2 to end of row, ending on a P2.

Row 15: K2, P2 to end of row.

Row 16: P2, K2 to end of row.

Row 17: K2, P2 to end of row; cast on one stitch.

Row 18: K1; P2, K2 to end of row.

Row 19: K2, P2 to end of row; cast on one stitch.

Row 20: K2, P2 to end of row.

Row 21: K2, P2 to end of row; cast on one stitch.

Row 22: P1; K2, P2 to end of row.

Row 23: K2, P2 to end of row; cast on one stitch.

Row 24: P2, K2 to end of row.

Row 25: K2, P2 to end of row; cast on two stitches.

Row 26-29: K2, P2, ending on a P2.

Row 30-32: K1, P1 to end of row.

Bind off in pattern.

Don't worry if it looks like this!

Just stretch it out (block it if you want).

Completed!

Use the beginning long tail and the ending cast off strings to sew up the small gap near the knuckles and the wrist to thumb. You can choose which side you like best because these gloves are completely reversible and interchangeable between hands!

 These gloves ended up being just under 2 inches from hem to base of thumb, it is a little over 6 inches wide.  Remember that the ribbing stretches wider, pulling the height up, so err on the longer side than the shorter. 

I tried them on too! A little big.

My husband modeling them!

I hope you use this pattern! If you do, send my pictures!! 

Song of the post: Fidelity by Regina Spektor. You can watch the video here.  I’ve liked this song for years now, but I just saw “Love and Other Drugs” and it was the last song in the movie!

I'll be linking up over at Skip to My Lou's Made by You Monday, Boogieboard Cottage’s Masterpiece Monday, Ladybug Blessing’s Handmade Tuesday, Home Stories A to Z’s Tutorials and Tips Tuesday, Not just a Housewife’s Show me What You Got, Debbie Doo’s Linky, Saavy Southern Style’s Wow us Wednesday, Someday Craft's Whatever Goes Wednesday, Fabric Bows and More’s Will See it Wednesday, Diddle Daddle’s Amaze me Monday, Sew Much Ado's We Did it Wednesday!,  Sassy Sites!’s Summer Fun, Tea Rose Home's Link Party, The 36th Avenue, Somewhat Simple's Strut Your Stuff,  Thirty Handmade Days' Pity Party, Young and Crafty’s Friday Free for All, Remodelaholic’s Friday Hop, , Be different, Act Normals’ Show and Tell Saturdays, the Sundae Hop with Baby Talk without the Babble, Tatertots and Jello’s Weekend Wrap-up, I Heart Naptime's Sundae Scoop, and Under the Table and Dreaming's Sunday Showcase.

Ribbed Fingerless Gloves.

I was excited to start another knitting project after making the red scarf. Since it is winter here in South Africa, I have thought about making a hat, but after typing up blog posts, it was my hands that really needed the warmth. Because I still do not have much experience with knitting, so I looked for the easiest patterns for finger less gloves. Fingerless because they’re easier to type with!

The original pattern- didn't work for me.

I made multiple starts, and finished one glove with this pattern. However, when I completed the glove and tried to sew it up, I couldn’t figure out how the spacing worked for the thumb to fit freely. 

 

I decided to figure out the problem, and in a roundabout way made my own pattern!

So here is the pattern for my “Ribbed Fingerless Gloves”

Long tail cast on of 38 stitches.

I have dainty hands so this pattern is for very small hands. It is easily enlarged by casting on a few more stitches or adding a few more rows in the wrist area or finger area.

Materials

Size 7 knitting needles

Gauge: 4 sts/inch, 5 rows/1 inch over stockinette

Yarn needle to weave in loose ends

Cotton yarn ( I'm sorry I don't know how much, but I'm sure on    skein will do just fine)

Finished Size: 6 inches by 7 inches (approx.)

Pattern

Using the long-tail cast on (I’m now using this always because the stitches match the bind off quite nicely on the other end), cast-on 38 stitches.

Row 1: Knit a rib pattern by following K2,P2, ending on a P2. 

Beginning the ribbing pattern.

Row 2: P2, K2, ending on a K2,

Complete this ribbing pattern until your cuff (until the base of your thumb is as long as you want). These gloves ended up being approximately 3.5 to 3.75 from hem to base of thumb, it is approximately 6 inches wide. Remember that the ribbing stretches wider, pulling the height up, so err on the longer side than the shorter. 

3.5-3.75 from hem to base of thumb.

 

On this row, cast off four stitches in the pattern (either K2, P2, or P2, K2, depending on what you ended with). You actually have to use a fifth stitch (keep it on the needle) in the cast-off to have four completely done (trust me), with 34 stitches on the needles.

Cast-off of 4 stitches.

Repeat pattern for the next 7 rows; when done with the 7^th row, cast on one stitch, flip your work and start the next row- and complete it and the next row. You can add more rows if you have longer hands.

When done with the row (you are where the cut out is), cast on one stitch, flip your work and start the next row- and complete it and the next row.

When done with the row (you are where the cut out is), cast on two stitches (back at 38 stitches), flip your work and start the next row- and complete it and the next.

Continue the ribbing pattern until you have the length you want for the fingers (mine is 2.5 inches from the original 4 cast-off stitches).

Bind off in pattern.

Total length of this pattern was 6 inches.

Casting on 2 stitches.

6 inches total.

Sewing the seams.

Completed ribbed fingerless gloves.

Use the beginning long tail and the ending cast off strings to sew up the small gap near the knuckles and the wrist to thumb. You can choose which side you like best because these gloves are completely reversible and interchangeable between hands!

Aside: For my husband’s man hands, I plan to make the cuff to thumb length at least 4-4.5 inches and I intend to cast off 6 stitches instead of 4 so that his thumb has more room to move. The thumb to finger length might have a few more rows added as well. I will post the pictures in the future.

I hope these instructions are clear. If you have any questions, please write a comment or e-mail me. 

I would love to see pictures if you ever make this!!

I'll be linking up over at Skip to My Lou's Made by You Monday, Boogieboard Cottage’s Masterpiece Monday, Ladybug Blessing’s Handmade Tuesday, Debbie Doo’s Linky, Saavy Southern Style’s Wow us Wednesday,  Fabric Bows and More's Will See it Wednesday, Diddle Daddle’s Amaze me Monday, Sew Much Ado's We Did it Wednesday!,  Sassy Sites!’s Summer Fun, Tea Rose Home's Link Party, The 36th Avenue, Somewhat Simple's Strut Your Stuff,  Thirty Handmade Days' Pity Party, Just Married with Coupon's Saturday Stalk Remix, Be different, Act Normals’ Show and Tell Saturdays, Someday Craft's Whatever Goes Wednesday, the Sundae Hop with Baby Talk without the Babble, I Heart Naptime's Sundae Scoop, and Under the Table and Dreaming's Sunday Showcase.

P.S.- My hubby has a new blog posted here.

Song of the day: Brighter Than Sunshine by Aqualung.

Garden Twine Coasters.

I was inspired recently to try to make something useful for our house- coasters! I am very aware that none of this furniture is ours, and so I am vigilant about making sure my husband has something underneath his glass at all times. He hates it. But I think he’ll make sure to use it if he knows I made it!

I don’t have much yarn, so I was excited to try using “garden twine” from Target’s One Spot (everything is about a dollar). I had bought it a year ago, thinking that I might use it for our wedding, however not much of it was! So I thought, why not? 

I started off using this pattern, however I ran into some difficulties because I didn’t have the right needle size. I started off using some plastic circular needles (they can from a beginner’s kit; they were a size small than suggested), but they did not like the twine. 

I unraveled it all and started again with metal needles, a size larger than suggested…

I realized very quickly that this fiber is not stretchable, is coarse, and thicker than what was used in that project... this meant that the coaster was now almost the size of a place mat! What to do? Keep going, even though I had not set out to make a place mat, or unravel once again.

I unraveled and amended the pattern to this:

Materials

    Size 7 knitting needles

    gauge: 4 sts/inch, 5 rows/1 inch over stockinette

    yarn needle to weave in loose ends

    garden twine

    Finished Size: 3.75 stitches Square (approx.)

The Pattern

    Cast on 15 stiches

    Work 2 rows in seed stitch: K1, *P1, K1* repeat from * across

    RS Row: K1, P1, K11, P1, K1

    WS Row: K1, P13, K1

    Repeat the RS and WS rows until you have completed a total of approximately 16 rows completed 

       (you decide when it looks square!)

    Work 2 rows in seed stitch: K1, *P1, K1* repeat from * across

    Bind off, keeping with seed stitch pattern (K1, *P1, K1* repeat from * across)

    Weave in loose ends

    Block if needed (which it did)

After blocking.

The first one I made came out very lopsidedly trapezoidal. I research how to fix this, and my second one only came out minimally trapezoidal. I researched blocking here, and then did it, trying to make them as square-like as possible. I put some heavy knitting and crochet books on top to keep it flat.

The first one I made came out larger and lopsided, the second, more square.

Once they were dry, I added a small border with seed beads to add a little pizzazz and color! I only had black thread, so you can see through the green glass beads- its growing on me. The silver foil lined glass beads are left over from my wedding as well (from when I stupidly thought that I could make my own veil two days before my wedding).

Partway done with the beading.

A few notes:

See the different sizes? I don't mind it at all!

• The skin on the fingers of my left hand are slightly irritated because of how scratchy the twine is.
• You might have a little trouble if you’re a tight knitter like I am. I’d definitely use metal needles if you’re using the twine.
• Hiding the seed bead string can be tricky. You could always knit with them on your twine, or add a border of twine and add the beads on that strand. (I’ve never done this, so I was too intimidated to try- I’m always afraid that I will underestimate how much fiber I will need and run out. I’m not very good with changing colors. Also, the twine is so thick, I’m not sure how changing strands would work. )
• You could always try doing a double strand of fiber to add color, instead of beading.



Completed coasters.

• You could use embroidery floss to add a decorative edging as well. 

I think they are coming out pretty cute ( still have to finish the beading)! They are definitely one of a kind…

I think they could look great in a shabby sheik décor living room or on an outside patio table.What do you think? (Is shabby sheik another way to say "poorly made"? lol)

I'll be linking up over at Skip to My Lou's Made by You Monday, Boogieboard Cottage’s Masterpiece Monday, Ladybug Blessing’s Handmade Tuesday, Debbie Doo’s Linky, Saavy Southern Style’s Wow us Wednesday,  Fabric Bows and More's Will See it Wednesday, Diddle Daddle’s Amaze me Monday, Sew Much Ado's We Did it Wednesday!,  Sassy Sites!’s Summer Fun, Tea Rose Home's Link Party, The 36th Avenue, Somewhat Simple's Strut Your Stuff,  Thirty Handmade Days' Pity Party, Just Married with Coupon's Saturday Stalk Remix, Be different, Act Normals’ Show and Tell Saturdays, Someday Craft's Whatever Goes Wednesday, the Sundae Hop with Baby Talk without the Babble, I Heart Naptime's Sundae Scoop, and Under the Table and Dreaming's Sunday Showcase.

P.S.- Check out my hubby's blog here.

Song of the day: All Time Lover by Will Young. I've never heard of him until recently, but this song is so bittersweet- I can't get over it!

Red fur.

Yes, I got it on sale!

While it was very cold outside, I was trying to keep busy inside by sorting out my knitting and crochet needles and yarn. 

I came across an old kit, brand new, that I had had for a long time. I decided to open it and do it for fun. I hadn’t knitted in a while, so I had to refresh my memory with the stitches; I thought this would get my “knitting legs” wet again. 

Red fur.

I’ve hardly worked with “fun fur” because it’s hard to see your stitches and when you make a mistake, it seems extra hard to fix it. It was also my first time using two strands. It has a simple ribbed pattern, but I still managed to get it turned around once, or twice. Luckily, you can’t really see it due to the fur! The nice thing about this simple project is that you can finish it in a day or two.

First two rows.

Here is the basic pattern:

Size 17 (12.5 mm) knitting needles

Fun Fur, 1 ball (64 yrds/58m)

Medium weight, mohair-look yarn, (64 yrds/ 58m)

Cast on 14 stitches.

First row: knit two, purl two, repeat until the end of the row.

Second row: purl two, knit two, repeat until the end of the row. 

Continue this pattern until you run out of fur! 

Making progress!

Done! Like the little doggie in the window?

You can sort of see the ribbing here.

I had just enough fur, but I usually like my scarves a little longer. I might have to give this to someone for Christmas. So, if you read this, and then get a red scarf for Christmas, please act surprised! :)

Me modeling it.

 So that's my first project on the blog- I hope to post more as time goes on!




I miss my friends- please say "hi" to me by commenting, Facebook, or e-mail! And, if you're a long-time lurker, say "hi" too!

Song of the day: 

 All for You by Sister Hazel. I was lucky to see them in a mini concert outside at the U of A. All of a sudden we had a huge monsoon storm blog in and everyone, including the band, had to run for cover. Good times!

I'll be linking up over Sew Much Ado's We Did it Wednesday!,  Tea Rose Home's Link Party No.56, The 36th Avenue, Somewhat Simple's Strut Your Stuff,  Thirty Handmade Days' Pity Party, Just Married with Coupon's Saturday Stalk Remix, Someday Craft's Whatever Goes Wednesday, the Sundae Hop with Baby Talk without the Babble, I Heart Naptime's Sundae Scoop, and Under the Table and Dreaming's Sunday Showcase.

Be sure to head over to these blogs and check out all the projects people have done this week!