Knitted Mitts of Chunky Yarn Tutorial

My last Christmas present is done!  This time it is a knitted pair of fingerless mitts.

These were very easy and fast.  If I had not played around with needle size and gauge it would have been a one evening project.

And one skein of yarn was all I needed.

These are for a guy who works outside in the garden, even in cold weather so I needed something that would be practical, warm, not show dirt stains and be easy to throw in the washer.

I used one 4oz. (64yd.) skein of Lion Brand Santa Fe Tweed which is a machine washable and dryable super bulky yarn made of acrylic & rayon.  It is very soft and this color will hide dirt stains well.

I played with different size needles and settled on US size 10.

This pattern makes mitts that are about 8" around in the palm area, the band is slightly smaller.

Cast on 26 stitches leaving a tail of about 8".

7 rows of knit 1, purl 1 to make the ribbing.

15 rows of stockinette stitch which is one row of knit, one row of purl, repeat until you have 15 rows.

2 rows of knit 1, purl 1 to make the narrow ribbing at the top.

Bind off leaving a tail of about 8".

I separated the bulky yarn tails into 2 pieces to make it easier to stitch the sides together.  Sew a bit then try on to see where you need to stop for the thumb hole.  I threaded the yarn through the knitted edge where the thumb hole would be and continued to stitch the side together.  I did this from top down and bottom up to make sure it was super sturdy, using all the separated tails.

I am very much a beginner knitter so anyone could make these.  If you need them narrower just cast on less stitches but keep the number even.  If you want them longer or shorter, adjust as needed.  Mine came out at 6½" long.