PurlbedMittens & mitts · Beginner
Fingerless mitts
One of the most popular machine-knitting projects: a snug tube with a cuff at the wrist and a shorter one at the knuckles. It is knitted flat and sewn up the side, leaving a gap for the thumb, so there is no shaping at all. A good way to try a punch-card pattern or stripes on something small and useful.
Suits these machines
- Single bed, punch card
- Single bed, electronic
- Single bed, no patterning
- Single bed (punch card) + ribber
- Single bed (electronic) + ribber
- Double bed with pushers (Passap type)
- Double-bed hand flat (V-bed)
Techniques used
Your size, machine and gauge
Virtual test knit
✓ Virtual test knit passedEvery row of every piece on this page has just been knitted on a model of your machine, for the size, machine and gauge you chose. The model follows each needle's loops through transfers, held needles, hems and cast-offs, then measures the finished pieces.
214 rows and 11,342 stitches knitted, 0 stitches transferred, 0 held-needle passes: no dropped stitch, no hole, no lost loop, every stitch cast off or secured at the end.
| Measurement | Should be | Simulated |
|---|---|---|
| Mitt circumference | 16.5–18 cm | ✓ 17.7 cm |
| Mitt length | 18–20 cm | ✓ 19.3 cm |
| Thumb hole all round | 5.4–9 cm | ✓ 7 cm |
The simulation checks the instructions and the arithmetic. Yarn, tension and blocking still differ from knitter to knitter, so knit the gauge swatch first and type in your own numbers. Knitted one? We would love a photo: support@purlbed.com.
Women · Single bed, punch card · Gauge (stocking stitch, after steaming): 30 sts × 40 rows
Sizes
| Measurement | Child 6–10 years | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hand circumference (round the knuckles) | 16 cm | 18 cm | 21.5 cm |
| Mitt length | 15 cm | 19 cm | 21 cm |
| Wrist cuff depth | 4 cm | 5 cm | 5 cm |
You will need
Yarn: Soft wool, merino or alpaca blend: 4-ply / fingering on a standard machine, DK on mid gauge.
About 35 g in total for this size (an estimate from the area of the pieces; buy a little more).
Also: Tapestry needle, Contrast thread for marking, Waste yarn (single bed)
Gauge swatch first
- Cast on 40 needles with waste yarn and knit a few rows. Change to the main yarn and choose a tension that gives a fabric you like (see the starting points below).
- Knit 60 rows. Tie a contrast thread to the 11th needle from each side at row 10 and row 50, so the marks are 20 needles and 40 rows apart.
- Knit a few rows of waste yarn and take the swatch off. Steam or wash it the way you will treat the finished piece, and let it rest flat for a few hours.
- Measure between the marks: stitches in 10 cm = 20 ÷ width in cm × 10, rows in 10 cm = 40 ÷ height in cm × 10. Type the two numbers into the gauge boxes above; that tension is your main tension (MT).
Pieces
Mitt (knit 2)
Cast on 53 sts, 107 rows. Flat size about 17.7 × 19.3 cm.
Row by row
- Bring 53 needles into work (L26 to R27). Cast on with waste yarn, knit about 10 rows, 1 row of ravel cord, then change to the main yarn. Set RC to 000.
- Turned hem: knit 20 rows at MT−1, 1 row at MT+2 (the fold line) and 20 rows at MT−1. Hang the loops of the first main-yarn row (just above the waste yarn) back on the needles, then knit 1 row at MT (RC 042). Remove the waste yarn later.
- Knit 17 rows at MT (RC 059).
- Tie a contrast thread to the left edge stitch: the thumb opening starts here. Knit 14 rows at MT (RC 073).
- Tie a contrast thread to the left edge stitch: the thumb opening ends here. Knit 17 rows at MT (RC 090).
- Closing hem: knit 8 rows at MT−1, 1 row at MT+2 and 8 rows at MT−1 (RC 107), then a few rows of waste yarn, and release. Fold the hem inside along the loose row and sew the open loops to the first hem row.
Needle notation
Step 1 at the bottom; only the needles around the changes are shown.
Row sequence (7)
| Rows | What the carriage knits | Tension |
|---|---|---|
| 1–20 | Stocking stitch | MT−1 |
| 21 | Stocking stitch | MT+2 |
| 22–41 | Stocking stitch | MT−1 |
| 42–90 | Stocking stitch | MT |
| 91–98 | Stocking stitch | MT−1 |
| 99 | Stocking stitch | MT+2 |
| 100–107 | Stocking stitch | MT−1 |
Finishing
- Weave in the ends and remove the waste yarn.
- Fold each mitt lengthwise, right sides together. Sew the side seam from the wrist up to the first thread and from the second thread to the top: the gap between the threads is the thumb hole.
- Turn right side out and steam lightly. Both mitts are the same; wear the seam on the thumb side.
Notes and changes
- Make them longer for wrist warmers that reach the elbow: add rows before the thumb opening.
- A 24-stitch punch-card pattern across the back of the hand fits well on the standard gauge.
Abbreviations
- MT
- main tension: the tension dial setting of your gauge swatch. MT−1 is one number tighter, MT+2 two numbers looser.
- RC
- row counter. Set it to 000 after the cast on; the steps give the reading at the end of each step.
- sts
- stitches. One working needle holds one stitch.
- L10 / R10
- needle numbers, counted outwards from the centre 0 of the needle bed.
- Hold
- a needle pushed fully forward keeps its stitch and does not knit while the carriage is set to hold.
- Waste yarn
- a contrast yarn knitted before or after the piece and unravelled later, so open loops can be hung or sewn.
- Fully fashioned
- decreasing or increasing 2 stitches in from the edge with a transfer tool, so the edge stays smooth for seaming.
purlbed.com/templates/fingerless-mitts/ · Virtual test knit passed