Gloves & Mittens

front and back

Oyster Mittens have a feather and fan cuff and slightly modified feather and fan on the back of the hand. (The palms are plain.) The stitch patterns have written directions only. For maximum oyster likeness, use Silk Garden colour #269.

See this post for details.



gansey mittens

Citadel Mittens have some features that I think of as associated with a gansey—split hems, patterned gussets, and areas with different patterns set off by horizontal welts. They have generously long cuffs to keep the rain out of your sleeves.

The pattern has both charted and written directions. Choose a crisp worsted weight wool yarn for best results.

See this post for details.



Elfin mittens

Elfin Mittens feature a leaf-like lace pattern growing out of a rolled cuff and climbing up the back of the hand, and they end with a pointed tip. The pattern is a $1.99 USD download at Knit Picks.



Maplewood Mittens

Maplewood mittens have wide and cozy garter stitch cuffs and a chevron pattern over the back of the hand, with a single garter stitch at each side. The palms and thumbs are kept in stockinette for fast and easy knitting. For best effect, choose a crisp worsted-weight wool yarn. See this post for details.



Ringwood Gloves are a classic pattern with some modest updating, published in Knitty, Deep Fall 2010.



Back of hand

Polaris mittens are a riff on an old Norwegian rose motif. To knit them, you'll need two 50g skeins of Knit Picks Palette or some other sticky fingering-weight wool yarn, in two contrasting colours (shown in Jay and Cream). I used a set of 5 US #1/2.25mm double-pointed needles to achieve a gauge of 38 sts and 44 rounds = 4" in the stranded pattern; choose whatever needle size gets you gauge. The finished mittens measure 7.5" around above the thumb, and 11" from the edge of the cuff to the pointed tip. The pattern is available to download for $5.50 CAD.



Guardian Gloves

Guardian is a pair of fine-gauge, elaborate stranded colorwork gloves inspired by the bright tile ceiling in the atrium of the Guardian Building in Detroit. The knitted version is simplified substantially from its namesake, but shares its bright color scheme and its bold diamonds-inside-diamonds pattern.

Skills required are: provisional cast-on, I-cord, picking up and knitting stitches, stranded colorwork with three colors at once, working a yarn over, knitting through the back loop, decreasing with k2tog and k3tog, and embroidering with duplicate stitch. Yarn requirements: Knit Picks Palette; 1 skein each of Jay, Sweet Potato, Safflower, Clover, and Pimento.

The pattern is available to download for $5.50 CAD.



Lily

Dainty, old-fashioned Lily gloves feature an elaborate lace edge that’s worked sideways in garter stitch. The strip of knitting is grafted into a ring to form the cuff, and the remainder of the glove is worked in the round. Soft alpaca laceweight yarn held double makes a thin but warm fabric, perfect for dress gloves.

This pattern is charted only. Skills required are: working a provisional cast-on, working a yarn over, decreasing with k2tog and sk2p, casting on using the backwards-loop method, picking up and knitting stitches, increasing with M1L and M1R, and grafting with Kitchener stitch. Yarn requirements: 2 skeins Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud in Oyster Heather.

The pattern is available to download for $5.50 CAD.



Front and back

Puzzle Stripe Mittens are simple stranded colourwork mittens with an I-cord cuff edge and striped palms and thumbs. The sample shown was made from 1 skein each of Jamieson Shetland Heather Aran in Grouse (MC) and Burnt Umber (CC), and measures 7.5" around the hand above the thumb. Resizing is best accomplished by changing gauge: use a slightly heavier yarn and larger needles for bigger mittens, and a slightly lighter yarn and smaller needles for smaller mittens.

See this post for details.


Yellow gloves

Cozy and quick to knit, the Snowball Gloves feature a quick hit of stranded colourwork at the cuff, followed by plain stockinette. The colourwork pattern is inspired by the snowball quilt block, assembled from an octagon and four quarter-square triangles; this knitted rendition is elaborated with small fleur-de-lis motifs at the centre of each snowball and at the intersections between "blocks" to prevent too-long stretches of a single colour. Their finished size is 7 (8, 9)" around the hand measured above the thumb.

This pattern is charted only. Skills required are: knitting and purling; working in the round; stranded colourwork using two colours; casting on using the cable and backwards loop methods; increasing using m1L and m1R; decreasing using ssk and k2tog; and following a colourwork chart. Yarn requirements: 2 skeins Knit Picks City Tweed DK in Lemon Curd (MC), 1 skein in Brocade (CC).

The pattern is available to download for $5.50 CAD.


Hand-holdy

Perenelle is a pair of lightweight mittens with bold geometric motifs in a checkerboard arrangement, to help you chase away the last of the winter chill. Choose a sticky wool or wool blend yarn that blooms slightly with washing for best results. The finished mittens measure 7.5" around above the thumb.

The sample pictured above was knitted in Sunday Knits Angelic 3 ply in Dijon (MC) and Sunday Knits Eden 3 ply in Night (CC).

This pattern is charted only. Skills required are: casting on; knitting and purling; working in the round; stranded colourwork with two colours; reading a colourwork chart; increasing with m1; decreasing with ssk, k2tog, and sk2p.

The pattern is available to download for $6 CAD.