A Tale of Two Gauntlets

This is an instructional blog post dedicated to Redspool. May your needles never bend or break.

I take no credit for this design, it's a simplified version of a project I read about in the book Knitting With Balls by Michael del Vecchio.

Materials:

• a set of size 8 (7? I can never remember, I've had them so long) double pointed needles (so 4 of them)
• yarn in your choice of color (I realize I could be more technical here, but as a poor college student only now beginning to explore the world of handspun and local yarn, I've been limited to your basic, mass produced, acrylic or acrylic blends which usually have about the same worsted weight no matter which kind you buy.) For a pair of ittens, you need probably about one skein or an ounce each. Again, I've never really paid attention to that part.
• a piece of scrap yarn in a different color from your project at least 5 inches long
• Yarn needle (optional though recommended)

Instructions:

Cast on 40 stitches. Using the Long-Tail method.

Distribute the stitches amongst your needles so you have 10 on one needle, 20 on the next needle and 10 on the last needle.

You will be knitting on the round. To start, circle the last stitch, where the yarn connects needles to ball, to the first stitch you cast on. Knit 1. Purl 1. Repeat. Continue with this basic rib all the way around until the itten is about an inch long. This will be the cuff.

From here, knit through the back loop in a basic stockinette stitch until the itten measures 4.5 to 5 inches long depending on your preference.

When your itten is long enough, it's time to set up for the thumb hole.

On the next row, knit two stitches, then switch to the scrap yarn and knit for 7 stitches.

Swap the seven stitches back onto the original needle and continue knitting in the stockinette for 9 more rows or until the project measures about 5.5 to 6 inches long.

Cast off.

Rather than cutting the string here, what I usually do is cut it with 3-4 yards to spare (again, I've done this so many times I just measure out a few arm lengths and pray that it's enough) to use as the thumb. Then I weave the spare yarn through the project until it come out the rightside near where the thumb hole is supposed to be.

Remove the scrap yarn so you have 14 loose loops.

Pick up these 14 loose loops with two of your empty needles.

Knit 6 then switch to your fourth needle. Knit 1. You should be at the end of one of the rows of 7.

Using your spare needle, pick up 2 stitches out of the finished itten. Knit these.

You should have reached the next row of 7. Knit 3 then switch to your open needle. Knit 4 and when you reach the end of the row of 7, pick up 2 more stitches out of the fabric.

You should have 18 working stitches. Knit in the round like you did for the rest of the project for 9 rows (which is long enough for the thumb to be as long as the palm).

Cast off. Here you can either tie off or as I like to do, use whatever extra yarn there is and weave it back into the itten before tying it off.

Voila!

You've finished one half of a pair of ittens, gauntlets, fingerless mittens, whatever the hell you feel like calling them. Don't succumb to second sock syndrome, finish the second one and you'll be golden.

When making the thumb hole of the second one, I wait until I'm at the end of the row (so the needle with 10 stitches that comes after the needle with 20) before I make the thumb hole. While this isn't necessary as I've described the project, if you do any kind of cable work or fair-isle designs, this step keeps you from making two left or two right ittens.

One thing I like to do with this as a variation is to add some cables at the beginning and end of the itten. So after knitting for stockinette for 5 rows, the next time I reach the 20 stitch needle, I knit 1 and make a leftward cable of 8 stitches (so 4 over 4) knit 2 then a rightward cable of 8. Knit 1 to finish off the needle, then continue in stockinette until 2 rows after the thumb hole. Then repeat the cable process (only do the rightward before leftward) so you end with a kind of x shape pattern on the finished project.