Ana from INCARNATE wears a lot of woolen items. (I’m not sure where she gets that from.) Hats, socks, mittens, scarves … and my favorite, fingerless mitts.

I’ve knit dozens of fingerless mittens to give away, but I can’t possibly knit enough for everyone and their cold hands. After much trial, and with much help from knitting friends, I have converted the pattern in my head to pattern on (virtual) paper. I now have all new appreciation for actual knitting designers.

These mitts are for advanced beginners. You’ll need to know how to knit cables, read a chart, and knit in the round.

I think of these mitts as having two sides: palm side and pattern side. The pattern side will be the Hourglass Cable from Gabriella Chiarenza’s Celsidra socks, featured in Knitty’s Spring 2007 issue.

Since the chart isn’t mine (neither is the cable pattern, for that matter), you’ll have to click over to the Knitty site for that part of the pattern. The abbreviations and special instructions for the cables are at the top of the sock pattern page. If you don’t know how to read a chart, don’t be afraid. Start on the bottom right, work left, then move up to the next line.