Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Spring Fling Fingerless Gloves

Spring Fling Fingerless Gloves

As you may be able to tell, I really struggled to come up with a good name for these gloves (the stitch I used, Russian Stitch, just didn't have much of a ring, or seem appropriate given the final product). I also struggled with finding the exact right way to deploy the yarn I had left over from the Little Arrowhead Fingerless Gloves, and ripped these bad boys out a couple of times before I was satisfied. Of course, the good news is that I am, indeed, satisfied with the finished product, which is a short, spring-weight fingerless glove that relies on a little bit of texture and a little bit of color for oomph. In general, I would also say that these fit a little on the large side, and if you've got super-petite hands, you're welcome to hit me up for revised pattern instructions. If your hands are small and above, however, I think one of the sizes below should work (I'm a women's small in most glove-like things, and the smaller size fits me fine).

Thumb and stuff.
Sizes: smaller (for a hand roughly 7 1/2" - 8" in circumference at the base of the thumb) and larger (for a hand roughly 8 1/2" - 9" in circumference at the base of the thumb) - directions for larger size will follow those for the smaller size in parentheses

Yarn: Schoeller + Stahl Baby Micro (51% Virgin Wool, 49% Acrylic; 106 yards [97.5 meters]/25 grams); #05 Lilac - one skein (color A) & #04 Light Blue - one skein (color B)

Needles: One set of double-pointed needles (dpns) in size 3, one set of dpns in size 2

Notions: Tapestry needle

Gauge: 26 stitches = 4 inches 

Using your size 2 dpns and your color A yarn, cast on 55 stitches loosely (65 stitches) and distribute among your dpns as follows: 20 stitches on your first needle, 15 stitches on your second needle, and 20 stitches on your third needle (for the larger size: 20 stitches on your first needle, 25 stitches on your second needle, and 20 stitches on your third needle). Join in round, and knit 4 rows in the following ribbing row:

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Field of Tulips Cowl

Field of Tulips Cowl

I grew up near the Skagit Valley in Washington, which celebrates spring each year with a tulip festival that drives all the locals nuts with insane traffic. On the plus side, of course, is the acres and acres of tulips all blooming at once, and of which this cowl reminds me. Or in other words, I designed this in what I consider to be the spirit of spring, and in tulip-y colors. It also combines two slip stitch patterns which evoke two different plowed-fields effects.

Yarn: Cascade Yarns Sierra (80% Pima Cotton, 20% Merino Wool; 191 yards [175 meters]/100 grams); #03 Vanilla - one skein (color A), #21 Royal Blue - one skein (color B), #55 Sunset - one skein (color C)

Needles: One 24" circular needle in size 8, one 16" or 20" circular needle, also in size 8

The back; the slip stitch color pattern reminds me
of the fields.
Notions: Tapestry needle, three stitch markers

Gauge: 18 stitches = 4 inches

Using color A and your 24" needle, cast on 149 stitches, place marker, and join in round. Knit 20, place extra marker, and then knit until you're 20 stitches from the end of the round and place another marker. Knit until the end of the round. And now, let's get right to the pattern, which you'll find below. As you'll notice, you will have fewer stitches on your needle on rows 3 and 9, which you'll add back on rows 4 and 10.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Little Arrowhead Fingerless Gloves

Little Arrowhead Fingerless Gloves
I went with Legos for the photo this time.

As promised, I'm adding more fingerless gloves to the repertoire. And the Little Arrowhead pair has a couple of nice features, including a simple repeating lace pattern and the fact that both gloves can both be knit from the same pattern (so no left hand, right hand mumbo jumbo!). I should note, however, that these gloves are designed with a slightly looser fit in mind (as you can see from the pictures, they're not stretching tight over my hands or anything), and if you want them to be snug, you may want to knit them a size smaller than I give directions for. In fact, if you have itty bitty hands and want really tight gloves, I would even recommend casting on 45 stitches instead of the small size's recommended 54, omitting those 9 stitches from your second dpn. Remember, however, that this will make your cast-on and cast-off edges tight, and you'll have to take extra care to cast on and bind off such that you can still get your hands in these bad boys!
I just realized why I like this color.
It's the same shade we painted the house!

Sizes: smaller (for a hand roughly 7 1/2" - 8" in circumference at the base of the thumb) and larger (for a hand roughly 8 1/2" - 9" in circumference at the base of the thumb) - directions for larger size will follow those for the smaller size in parentheses

Yarn: Schoeller + Stahl Baby Micro (51% Virgin Wool, 49% Acrylic; 106 yards [97.5 meters]/25 grams); #04 Light Blue - two skeins

Needles: One set of double-pointed needles (dpns) in size 3, one set of dpns in size 2

Notions: Tapestry needle

Gauge: 26 stitches = 4 inches

Using your size 2 dpns, cast on 54 stitches loosely (63 stitches) and distribute among your dpns as follows: 18 stitches on your first needle, 18 stitches on your second needle, and 18 stitches on your third needle (for the larger size: 18 stitches on your first needle, 27 stitches on your second needle, and 18 stitches on your third needle). Join in round, and then we'll knit the following ribbing row: