Handmade Holiday Countdown, Week One: Fingerless Mitts

In the spirit of the Christmas Cookie Countdown (Week One, Two and Three) and the Christmas Book Countdown (Week One, Two and Three) that I did two years ago, this year I decided to unveil a different handmade craft (or two) each week, rather than showing them all off after it's over, and, in the process perhaps provide a bit of inspiration for last-minute crafters. Also, it may spur me on to get things done before the guests are pulling in the driveway.

First up, a pair of fingerless mitts knit for E and Z.

I had a bag of woolens that were waiting to be washed sitting by the downstairs bathroom for, ahem, a long time this summer, and Z kept stealing my fingerless mittens out of it and wearing them around the house, and he asked me to knit him his own pair.

When your son asks you to knit him fingerless gloves you do not say no. And when you have twin boys and one asks you to make him a pair of fingerless gloves, you just have to make a pair for the other one.

I had two little skeins of mohair yarn that I bought last winter at the Yarn in a Yurt and it seemed like the perfect stuff for this project––blue for Z and rainbow for E.

I started the first pair at my grad school residency in July, but I am just not a summer knitter and did not get very far. I was trying to use the "magic loop" method and kept getting frustrated, so I set them aside.

I picked it up again during soccer season and switched to double-pointed needles, but I only had metal in this size and between the slippery yarn and the slippery metal needles and my loose knitting, I kept dropping needles under the bleachers, and got frustrated again (but I did finish one mitten). After that I switched back to the magic loop method and got a rhythm going with moving the yarn along the wire and whipped out the other three during Call the Midwife and Upstairs Downstairs.

The pattern, roughly based on a pattern I found online (can't remember where), is:

Worsted weight yarn (not much)
Size 7 dpn or long circular needles

Cast on 30 stitches, join being careful not to twist the yarn.
*Knit 3, Purl 2* repeat until the mitt measures about 4 1/5 inches.
Bind Off 3 stitches, finish row in pattern.
Cast On 3 stitches, finish row in pattern.
Knit four or five more rows in pattern until mitt measures about 6 inches (or desired length).
Bind Off.
Weave in ends (I haven't done that yet, but tucked them in for the picture).

The ribbing makes them nice and stretchy, so they will fit a range of hand sizes (I haven't tried them on the twins yet, obviously, but I think they will fit.

What are you making this season?