Lambing Mitts
I love a great pair of fingerless mitts! My love affair with fingerless mitts began when my kids were little. Nothing is more frustrating than the buckle on an infant car seat when you have winter gloves on. When I was a new mom, trying to rip gloves off all while juggling a purse and diaper bag and a screaming baby was just too much for my sleep deprived days. I live in Atlanta so our winters are always fluctuating between arctic, spring, and dreary days. Generally, I think many adults are passing briefly through the wintery outdoors, from heated space to heated space, so we don’t always need intense coverage on our fingers. I live in the south after all; the arctic days pass fast. I also find fingerless mitts to be ideal for those days when I just can’t shake the chill in my house (or indoors anywhere really). I still maintain my dexterity in my digits but something feels all the cozier with my wrists and the majority of my hands covered.
One of my very earliest spindled yarn projects was these Lambing Mitts by Veronika Jobe. This pattern is offered for free on the Tolt Yarn and Wool blog or through Ravelry. This pattern is easy to follow and great for any worsted weight yarn. I made a rustic yet sparkly yarn using a natural BFL and violet flash angelina that I handblended and spindled on one of my Turkish spindles. The mitts are constructed in the round and I used double pointed needles rather than magic loop knitting. My hands measure almost 8 inches around the palm, but I went ahead and knit the medium size mitts because I like well-fitted gloves. I wish this pattern had larger hand sizes that would be more appropriate for men as this really is a great neutral pattern. My husband takes the metro and I think he could benefit from something convertible like this.
The camera flash really catches the angelina I blended in to this natural oatmeal colored BFL from BeesyBee Fibers on Etsy. The single before plying on my first Turkish spindle by ScottsMountainCrafts on Etsy.
Around the time I started spinning, I was coming off a roughly 7 year knitting break because of mom life. This pattern was a great way to ease myself back into knitting. I did have to relearn the M1R and M1L increases, but beyond that, this pattern is very straight forward. One thing I will recommend is using a very stretchy cast on. I did not and especially as I went down a size, this makes me unable to pull them as high as I would like. Luckily you can try them on as you go and put as much length as you’d like in to the wrist portion. The mitts are still very wearable so I’m not bothered by it, just more of a thought for the future if you decide to make them.
Thumb knitting in the round on double pointed needles.
It’s now been a year and a half since I made these. They have seen 2 winters and are going strong (please ignore the pilling). The pattern makes a sturdy and warm set of mitts that can be styled with the garter stitch section down over the fingers or folded back to leave all your fingertips exposed. Even as I write this, my mitts are keeping my wrists off the cold metal of my laptop. I realize they aren’t for everyone; I wouldn’t go do a snowball fight in them. But if you need access to your fingers for any reason from technology to children’s seatbelts and everything in between, then maybe you should give these a try. What’s your preference, gloves or fingerless mitts? Let me know in the comments below!
