Zima Fingerless Mitts by Lena Zharichenko

Zima Fingerless Mitts

Knitting
February 2021
Fingering (14 wpi) ?
30 stitches and 37 rows = 4 inches
in pattern stitch
US 2½ - 3.0 mm
US 0 - 2.0 mm
191 - 250 yards (175 - 229 m)
XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL
English
This pattern is available for $5.00 USD buy it now

How any knitwear design fits is very important to me, so I take time to test out my theories and learn new methods to create a better fitting garment or accessory.

To shape the thumb gusset in this pattern, the increases are made along the side of the thumb towards the palm, instead of making increases toward the thumb. This eliminates a rigid line of increases that restricts the movement. Drastic increases for the gusset create a slight curve in the fabric for the base of the thumb and result in a perfectly fitting mitt from the wrist to the thumb. To reduce the pulling at the palm where the thumb gusset joins the mitt body, I added a few increases from the thumb gusset towards the palm of the hand(done over 3 rounds). It resembles a seamless underarm sweater shaping worked top down.
To avoid long floats in Fair Isle knitting, I use weaving in technique or twined knitting. With this method, the floats are caught after every stitch. There is a bit more yarn used working with this technique but it creates a sturdy and tight fabric where it’s hard to accidentally pull on the long float and damage an accessory, or a garment. In particular, I use a two-handed Philosopher’s Fair Isle technique (you can find some videos on YouTube for it or just get a book Fair Isle Sweaters Simplified by Ann and Eugene Bourgeois).

These fingerless mitts designed in 6 sizes from XS to XXL (see the Instructions PDF for the details and measurements).
Sizes XS (S, M, L, XL, XXL)
MEASUREMENTS
Finished cuff circumference 6 (6.5, 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5) in
Finished palm circumference 6.5 (7, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9) in
Finished length with folded cuff 6.25 (6.625, 7, 7.375, 7.75, 8.125) in

Colors of Rauma Finull used in the sample (size M)
Rauma 488 (MC)
Rauma 4206
Rauma 4129
Rauma 4138
Rauma 4095
Rauma 4023

Enjoy knitting these beautiful mitts!

Feedback on the fit, and pictures or your creations added to this design on ravley.com will be most welcome.

I, also designed a matching hat for these mitts - Zima Hat - that you can find on my ravelry.com page (look for purLZknitting) or on my website - purlzknitting.com.