Free patterns – beginner’s knit or crochet fingerless mitts

I am sharing this here partly as a way to keep the information in a separate location from my Mac and partly to add this to my sidebar of free patterns for your enjoyment. I created and wrote out two really basic patterns last night to use in my new Learn to Knit and Learn to Crochet kits for the market table. The knitted one comes first; scroll down for the crocheted one.

 KNIT FINGERLESS MITTS

Your first project – somewhat smaller and quicker than a scarf for learning some of the basics

100grams/3.5oz bulky weight yarn (number 5 on yarn label)

#10 US/6mm knitting needles

Large-eyed yarn needle for seaming

Scissors

Tape measure or ruler

 

 

**How to knit the knit stitch **

Insert the tip of your right needle into the first stitch on your left needle. Wrap the yarn counter-clockwise around the right needle tip. While maintaining a reasonable tension on the yarn, use the right needle tip to pull the yarn loop through the stitch. You have now made a new stitch. Let the old stitch drop off the left needle tip. 

Make a slipknot about three feet from the end of the yarn. Place on needle. Use Long Tail cast on method to cast on 22 stitches, for a total of 23 including slipknot. Keep your stitches snug on the needle but not too tight.

Knit each stitch of first row, trying to stay relaxed and not work too tightly or too loosely.

Turn work, and continue to knit every stitch of every row. After a couple of inches, measure the width of your knitting. It should be around 6.5” from side to side. Gauge is not critical for this project, but it is worth practising how to measure. Use a ruler or tape measure to find 4” of stitches across one row (a series of little eyebrows), not including edge stitches. Count how many in 4”. This is your gauge. Mine was 13.5 stitches to 4″.

Keep knitting every stitch of every row until you have worked about 6” from the cast on edge. Work an even number of rows so that when you bind off you will end up with the yarn tail on the top left corner of the rectangle, and the beginning yarn tail on the bottom right, so that seaming will be easy.

Bind off, cut yarn leaving a 12” tail, pull tail through the last stitch and tighten.

Fold the rectangle so that the cast on and bind off edges match up. Working from the public side (outside of mitt, also known as the Right Side) use mattress stitch and a large-eyed yarn needle threaded with the yarn tail to join edges together part way. Do the same at the other end.

Try mitt on to see if hole for thumb is right size. When you are happy with the fit, fasten off with a knot and weave in the ends on the inside. Never cut the yarn near the knot, always run it through the back of your work for a couple of inches, then turn and repeat in the other direction before cutting carefully.

Important note about gauge

When size matters, in other words you are making something to fit properly, you need to make a gauge swatch. This should be at least 6″ square and ideally should be washed and dried in the way that you will treat the finished garment. Then measure 4″ of stitches and rows in the centre of the swatch. In garter stitch, which is what you are making here, count the ‘eyebrows’ for stitches. When it comes to rows, you must count the raised ridges and the valleys between the ridges. One ridge represents two rows for easy counting.

Important note #2 about ease

Some things that you make will need to have positive ease. This just means that you usually make a sweater a few inches bigger around than your actual body measurement because you don’t want it to be skintight! In the case of these mitts, we are using negative ease. For an adult woman’s hand that measures about 7.5” around, we are creating a piece that measures less so that it will stretch to fit. This ensures that it will stay on when worn. This rule would also apply to a hat. 

Copyright for this pattern belongs to Nicola Newington. I am happy for you to share it with others, but please do not publish it as your own or sell it. You may sell any items that you make with this pattern.

 CROCHET FINGERLESS MITTS

Your first project – somewhat smaller and quicker than a scarf for learning some of the basics

100grams/3.5oz bulky weight yarn (number 5 on yarn label)

M/13/9mm crochet hook

Large-eyed yarn needle for seaming

Scissors

Tape measure or ruler

 

 

 

**How to single crochet**

Insert hook into stitch, wrap yarn clockwise around hook, pull loop through stitch; you now have two loops on hook; wrap yarn around hook again and pull yarn through two loops on hook.

Make a slipknot about 12 inches from the end of the yarn. Place on hook. Chain 16. Keep your chains fairly loose as you have to work into them on the first row.

Foundation row: Work a single crochet into the second chain from the hook (don’t count the loop that’s on the hook) followed by a single crochet into every chain to the end, trying to stay relaxed and not work too tightly or too loosely. You can work under one strand of each chain stitch, or two, just be consistent.

You now have 15 single crochet stitches. Chain 1, turn work so that the tops of your new stitches (they look like ‘Vs’) are along the top of the strip you just made.

Row 2: Single crochet into each stitch across, inserting your hook under both strands of each V. Count as you go to make sure you make 15 stitches. Chain 1, turn. (Never work into the chain 1 that is your turning chain from the previous row.)

Repeat row 2 a few more times.

After a couple of inches, measure the width of your crochet. It should be about 6.5” from side to side. Gauge is not critical for this project, but it is worth practising how to measure. Use a ruler or tape measure to find 4” of stitches across one row (a series of vertical posts), not including edge stitches. Count how many in 4”. This is your gauge. Mine was 10 stitches to 4”.

Continue repeating row 2 until you have worked about 6” from the cast on edge. Work an even number of rows so that when you finish you end up with the yarn tail on the opposite corner of the rectangle from the beginning yarn tail, so that seaming will be easy.

Fasten off by cutting yarn leaving a 12” tail, pull through the last loop on the hook and tighten.

Fold the rectangle so that the first and last rows match up. Working from the public side (outside of mitt, also known as Right Side) use mattress stitch and a large-eyed yarn needle threaded with the yarn tail to join edges together part way. Do the same at the other end.

Try mitt on to see if hole for thumb is right size. When you are happy with the fit, fasten off with a knot and weave in the ends on the inside. Never cut the yarn near the knot, always run it through the back of your work for a couple of inches, then turn and repeat in the other direction before cutting carefully.

Important note about gauge

When size matters, in other words you are making something to fit properly, you need to make a gauge swatch. This should be at least 6″ square and ideally should be washed and dried in the way that you will treat the finished garment. Then measure 4″ of stitches and rows in the centre of the swatch. In crochet, the vertical posts are stitches. When it comes to rows, you count the horizontal ridges.

Important note #2 about ease

Some things that you make will need to have positive ease. This just means that you make a sweater a few inches bigger around than your actual body measurement because you don’t want it to be skintight! In the case of these mitts, we are using negative ease. For an adult woman’s hand that measures about 7.5 inches around, we are creating a piece that measures less so that it will stretch to fit. This ensures that it will stay on when worn. This rule would also apply to a hat.

Copyright for this pattern belongs to Nicola Newington. I am happy for you to share it with others, but please do not publish it as your own or sell it. You may sell any items that you make with this pattern.