Fingerless Mittens

Our daughter lives in a state that is often -20˚F in the winter. And even though they expected cold winters when they moved, they also expected to be able to keep their home warm.

They live in a cute little summer cottage that was converted to year-round living, but not quite all the way. She can't run the dishwasher when the temperature reaches 0˚ or lower--the water won't move through the pipes. And they have been keeping their house at 55˚. They have a pellet stove and space heaters, but it is still chilly in the house!

A long time ago she had hypothermia and hasn't really been warm since, except for the summer she spent as a wilderness firefighter when she was close to the lines!

My friend has some fingerless mittens and I knew that I could make some on the knitting machine. I didn't really have a pattern--I had an outline of a pattern here (the pattern is called Magic Machine Knit Mitten Formula) that I re-worked to come up with these.

This is the first pair, so I know there are some changes I will make with the next pair. But these are the ones that will be mailed off on Monday to keep her hands warm inside the house.

I tried them on, and I was so surprised! They are a little loose around the fingers (one of the changes I will make in the next pair) but they are surprisingly comfortable and warm.

My friend has tried the fingerless gloves that have finger holes in them, and she didn't like them at all! She likes having her fingers free, so that's why I made these like mittens without the top.

They were knit completely on the knitting machine. I hand-latched the ribbing, but I used my KrisKrafter garter bar for the tops of the thumb and hand. I'm really getting the hang of the garter bar! One of the other things I tried on these was a join called a "Russian join" for joining the yarn ends together. It worked as well on the machine as it does hand knitting. They were knit flat, so I had to stitch up the outside seams.  The next time I make a pair I'll add an extra stitch along the side seams and latch them up. There is a link for that at Knitting Any Way.

I think the next pair I'll try using some wild sock yarn with stripes!