Loom-knitted fingerless mitts

I kept plugging away (which, wasn’t too hard, given the fact that I pulled a muscle in my neck and wasn’t doing much else around the house anyway) and finally cranked-out a pair of fingerless mitts that I am happy with.  This was my fourth attempt at making these things on a knitting loom.

My first attempt was really just a warm-up.  In the second attempt I tried to get fancy and use multiple types of stitches, but nothing could really save the fact that the yarn was just too thin.  It looked terrible.  The third attempt was more acceptable, but I put the thumb hole in an awkward place.

In the event that you might like to try these for yourself, here is the basic information about these.  I won’t attempt to teach you how to loom knit.  For that, I can point you to the book I used, and a nice resource for instructional video clips.

Also, I don’t really “speak” knitting, so if these instructions are not exactly in the proper lingo, maybe someone who knows better can correct me

[edited 12/31/08 - I have rewritten the following instructions to be worked from bottom to top (arm hole to knuckle hole) as opposed to the fingers-first way I originally did it. The reason for this is that I seem to have more control over the tightness of the bind-off row than I do over the tightness of the cast-on row.  I don't like it too loose at the knuckles, and so that's where I want the relatively tight bind-off row to be.]

Inspirations: A Friend to Knit With and Simple | Green | Frugal Co-Op

Loom: Blue (24-peg) Knifty Knitter

Yarn: One strand each, knitted together as a single strand, of Patons Classic Wool in Aran and Forest.

Directions:

Cast-on using e-wrap method.

Use the Knit Stitch (Stockinette) for all rows.

Knit 30 rows

To create a thumbhole, knit 1 row, stopping at last peg.  Rather than continuing on to knit the first peg, reverse direction, knit the last peg again, and continue around until you reach the first peg.  Reverse direction, knitting the first peg again, and continuing to the last peg.  Repeat this process until you have 6 total rows knitted in this manner (if your thumbs are small, you may be able to get away with 4, particularly since the hole with stretch with use).

Knit 12 rows

Bind off using basic bind-off method, and weave in long ends with a tapestry needle.

[edited 12/31/08: Since writing the original instructions, I've made several more pairs, and have come to realize that I like them a lot better using a single strand of worsted weight yarn.  I find that a single-strand produces a much lighter-weight mitten, that hugs my wrists better, and more gently.  It comes down to personal preference. If your results are feeling too big or too stiff for you, try again with a single strand.  Just be aware, that the loom stretches your work out!  You don't know how the mitt will truly fit until you remove it completely from the loom.  What may appear to be working up too big may actually fit just fine off the loom.]

This day in blog history:

• New Publications for October - 2009
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This topic in blog history:

• Lessons in knitting - November 2008
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