Saturday, November 14, 2009

A Yen For Cashmere or More Joys Of Fingerless Gloves


At night my fingers seems to just naturally drift to a small, easily gratifying bit of knitting. Fingerless gloves have become a passion because I use the almost year 'round since my digits seem to be always chilled. I hunt for patterns that I like - both free &, happily, paid for.
Lately I have become enamored with Rowan's new yarn called 'Lima' - a fine bit of cashmere blend with a really different construction that facilitates great texture, stitch definition and is made with 84% Baby Alpaca/8% Merino Wool/8% Nylon. Can you spell soft?! I found a wonderful little pattern called "CoffeeHouse Gloves" by Lorna Meiser Owner of Lorna's Laces in Knit'n Style's issue for December 2009 #164. It knits up beautifully in 'Lima' and I've made a pair in almost every color that 'Lima' offers. I did change the pattern a bit to make it longer and also to add some length in the thumb - which I find to be much cozier.

You can see some of the texture of this yarn in these small pics.

The gloves in the photo below are made from the 'Coffee House' pattern in green 'Lima Yarn' . They look small but there is a lot of stretch built in and the gloves look wonderful on! The gloves on the left are also made in 'Lima' and are called 'Fetching' from Knitty.com as a free pattern!



I do have a request - if any of you knows of a great fingerless glove pattern please let me know! I am happy to pay for a great pattern . Simple or fancy, long or short! Thanks for helping me feed my glove addiction and keeping my needles going!

3 comments:

phonelady said...

Crystal Palace Yarns
knit fingerless gloves - free pattern






Mochi Plus Wave Fingerless Gloves

Designed & Knit by Laura Andersson,
CPY “Sock Guru” and Sirius Knitting Publications

Inspiration: I am always inspired by new yarns, but the combo of the wonderful pastel rainbow of the baby face colorway of Mochi Plus and the softness of the yarn meant new wristers for me! It’s a dampish May so far, so keeping my hands warm!

See a Men's Version Here

Materials:
2 - 50 gm balls Mochi Plus in #561 baby face

Crystal Palace Bamboo dpn needles in size US 7 (4.5mm) or size required for gauge.
Large eyed tapestry needle or crochet hook

Gauge: 5 sts/inch (20 sts/10 cm) over stockinette.

Size: woman’s medium

Abbreviations:
CO- cast on; dpn- double pointed needles; K- Knit; K2tog - knit 2 sts together; P- Purl; PSSO - pass slip st over; PM – place marker; rep - repeat; rnd(s) - round(s); tog - together; st(s)- stitch(es); St st - stockinette stitch; YO - yarn over;

Instructions:
CO 40 sts. Join, being careful not to twist. PM (Place marker).
Work 5 rnds of double moss st: alternate K2P2 rnd with P2K2 rnd. End on rnd 5 of patt.


Wave Pattern:
Rnd 1: K
Rnd 2: *{(SL-1, K2tog, PSSO), (YO, K1) 4 times, K3tog} rep from * around.
Rnds 3 & 4: K
Rnd 5: P
Repeat these 5 rounds 5 times, end with Rnd 5.
(Wrister is ~4.5 in from cast on edge)
working in St st, begin the thumb shaping.

Thumb Rnd 1: K 17 st, PM, M1, K6, M1, PM, work rem 17 sts.
Thumb Rnd 2: K1 rnd with no changes Repeat thumb rnds 1 & 2 four [4] more times for a total of 50 sts (an inc of 10 sts).

Designer’s Note:
Be sure to work the M1 sts between the markers – the 1st M1 is after the 1st marker; the 2nd M1 is before the 2nd marker.

Knit to first marker, bind off all sts to 2nd marker, knit rem. Sts.
Next round knit to bind off and cast on 6 sts, Sl1, Pass last CO st over Sl1.
Next round knit to 1 before cast on st: Sl-1, K1, PSSO, knit to last CO st, Sl-1, K1, PSSO
Repeat this round twice, or as needed to make the Cast On area look neat and fit (slip hand in to test)

Knit plain for 1.75 in.
Then work in k2p2 rib for 1.25 in
Bind off in k2p2 rib.

Finishing: cut the yarn, leaving an ~8 in end. Work in all ends.
Try a crochet hook for this - no need to thread needle & is fast.

I hope this works for you .

Sandy said...

I must try them. A good nighttime project.

Lila Rostenberg said...

My first visit to your blog! I quilt and knit too. I love the banner on this blog! Knitting fingerless gloves is such a good thing this time of year. I may try the pattern left in the comment above!

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