How to Knit the Hole in Fingerless Mittens
When the cold weather starts coming on, it’s a signal to get out your winter gear. Keeping your hands warm and protected from the cold winter air is important, but so often wearing mittens interferes with even the simplest of tasks like removing something from a bag or singling out your house key. The solution is fingerless mittens. They cover most of your hand, but leave the tips of your thumb and fingers exposed. Knitting a pair of fingerless mittens is easier than it looks. You just need to know how to shape the holes for your thumb and fingers.
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Instructions
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Finger Opening and Starting the Thumb
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1
Knit to the marker located after the first stitch in the round. This will be on the first row once your mitten’s wrist band measures 3 1/4 inches long.
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2
Increase a stitch by lifting the yarn between the last stitch you knitted and the next stitch (still on the left needle) and twisting it as you slip it onto the left needle. Knit this new stitch and then slip the marker onto your right needle.
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3
Knit the new stitch and continue knitting this row to the second marker, the one located before the last stitch in the round.
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4
Slip the marker onto your right needle then increase a stitch just as you previously did, by lifting the yarn between the last stitch you knitted and the next stitch and twisting it onto the left needle.
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5
Knit the new stitch and continue knitting the mitten, increasing two stitches at the thumb every other row six more times.
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6
Knit around to the second marker. Slip the marker onto your right needle and knit one stitch.
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7
Slip the next twelve stitches -- the last six from the round you are working on plus the first six of the following round -- onto a stitch holder.
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8
Slip the stitch marker onto your right needle and continue knitting the main part of the mitten (the finger part) until it measures 2 inches.
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9
Work for 1 inch in a knit one, purl one ribbing pattern, then bind off the yarn.
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10
Thread the loose end of the yarn onto the tapestry needle and weave it into the inside of the mitten.
Finishing the Thumb
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11
Transfer the twelve stitches from the stitch holder onto the knitting needles and add two more stitches from the part of the mitten that will be in the crook of your thumb. This will give you a total of fourteen stitches.
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12
Knit one round.
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13
Work in a knit one, purl one ribbing for 1/2 inch, then bind off the yarn.
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14
Thread the loose end of the yarn onto the tapestry needle and weave it into the inside of the thumb.
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Tips & Warnings
This mitten pattern is being worked on circular needles. Alternately, you can use a set of double pointed needles. Most mitten patterns are worked with circular or double pointed needles, although there are a few that instruct you to knit two sides of a mitten separately and then sew them together.
To better understand the placement of the markers in this example, one marker is typically placed after the first stitch in a round and another is placed before the last stitch in that same round. This allows you to know when you’ve reached the end of a row and will be beginning a new one as well as where to create the increases for the thumb gusset.
When you’re working the thumb gusset, you shouldn’t need a stitch marker to keep your place, but if you find it easier to work with a stitch marker, place it between the two stitches you pick up in the crook of the thumb.
References
Resources
- Knitting New Mittens and Gloves; Robin Melanson
