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Overview
Why settle for boring store bought mittens and cold fingers, when you could knit the warmest, best fitting pair yourself? With Knit Mitts as your guide, you'll have the comprehensive information you need to create snug, warm, and practical mittens and gloves—right in the palm of your hand.
Inside, knitting expert Kate Atherley offers solutions to common problem areas: stretchy cast-ons for cuffs, fixes for thumb gaps, tricks for working the tiny circumference of glove fingers. She also addresses yarn choices and knitting techniques for easy care and maximum warmth. Through basic mitten and glove recipes, Kate explains how to measure a hand, assess your yarn selection and gauge, and ultimately customize patterns—including the 10 gorgeous ones inside—to make the best fitting mitts for you and your loved ones. Because the very best mitts are knit to fit!
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781632504920 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Penguin Publishing Group |
| Publication date: | 10/26/2017 |
| Pages: | 144 |
| Product dimensions: | 8.20(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.40(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
HAND SIZE & MITTEN FIT
Inspired by the learning from and success of my foot-size survey in my book Custom Socks, I decided to gather measurement data for the other extremity: the hand.
My goal was to learn more about the range of hand sizes and shapes, to help me make better patterns, and to help knitters make better-fitting mittens and gloves.
After all, a too-big mitten falls off when you throw a snowball, and a too-small glove is remarkably unpleasant to wear, like tights that you can't pull all the way up.
Properly fitted mittens and gloves look nicer and feel nicer — but more importantly they work better at keeping your hands warm. After all, that's why we wear them!
The Hand-Size Survey
I asked friends and knitters to measure their hands for me. I had over 500 responses of aft sizes, from toddlers to adults. I requested six measurements: Wrist circumference
-> Circumference of the palm above the thumb
-> Thumb circumference
-> Length of hand from wrist to top of longest finger
-> Length from wrist to crook of thumb
-> Length of thumb from crook to tip
And for organizational purposes, I asked participants to categorize themselves by age — adult, teen, and various children's ages.
Just as for feet, I found some interesting symmetries, and uncovered a set of standard proportions that make it easy for a knitter to estimate hand size based on a little bit of knowledge about the person.
Of course, it's always better to knit to a person's actual measurements. But since mitten fit is fairly forgiving, this hand-size information allows you to make a properly sized mitten based on some pretty basic information about the person it is intended for. Even just knowing age, gender, and relative size will get you what you need. And if you know one key measurement-hand circumference — you can be even more confident you'll get a great mitten fit.
Note that gloves require a more precise fit, so for those it's good to get at least the hand circumference, and more if you can.
ADULTS
Adults reported hand circumferences between 6 and 11 inches (15.25 to 28 cm). The average circumference for adults was 7 2/3 inches (19.5 cm), and 90% of adults who contributed have hands measuring between 7 and 9 inches (18 and 23 cm) in circumference.
For the average adult hand, we see the following:
-> Hand length from top of wrist to tip of longest finger is remarkably close to hand circumference. For a woman, the length is typically a little smaller than the circumference; for men, the two measurements are typically the same.
-> Wrist circumference is a little bit more than 80% of hand circumference — 83%, to be precise.
-> Thumb gusset length is 38% of hand length.
-> Actual thumb length is typically a third (33%) of hand length.
CHILDREN
Children's hands — once they're big enough to be able to wear "proper" mittens — start at 5 inches (12.5 cm) in circumference, going up to about 7 inches (18 cm) before the growth spurt of the early teen years. (See Baby Mittens on page 67) for making mittens for children younger than about eighteen months.)
Generally, children's hands are a little rounder, a little chubbier, than adult hands.
For children up to ten or eleven years old, we see the following:
-> Hand circumferences starting at 5 inches (12.5 cm), up to about 7 inches (18 cm).
-> A child's palm circumference is typically a little larger than the hand length.
-> For children up to three years, wrist circumference is pretty close to hand circumference, about 95%; for children between three years and about ten years, wrist circumference is around 90% of hand circumference.
-> Thumb gusset length is typically 40% of hand length.
-> As for adult hands, actual thumb length is typically V3 (33%) of hand length.
-> As soon as the growth spurt of puberty hits, then you can assume adult proportions.
Measuring a Hand
For a custom-fit mitten, you need the following measurements:
-> Circumference of the wrist
-> Circumference of the palm of the hand, taken just above the crook of the thumb
-> Length of the hand from the wrist to the tip of the longest finger
If you're making gloves, you'll also need these finger measurements:
-> Length from the base of the little finger to the base of the ring finger
-> Length of each finger: little finger, ring finger, middle finger, index finger
For using the tables, round your palm circumference measurement to the nearest half inch/full cm. That is, if your palm circumference is 7% inches around, round down to 7% inches.
Working Without Measurements
Although it's best to work to actual measurements, mittens are reasonably forgiving in fit. If you're making mittens and you have hand circumference for the intended wearer, consult table 1.1 to determine the rest of your measurements. However, if you are making gloves, you do need the actual measurements to get a good fit.
And even if you're not able to get any measurements at all, you can still use the survey result tables to get a good estimate of hand measurements, based on age for children, and gender and relative size for adults.
Choosing a Size to Knit
What size you choose for a mitten or glove depends on a few factors: the style you're making, and how you're going to wear it, most notably. The size of the hand to wear it and the thickness of the yarn used also have a role to play.
If you're going to wear the mitten over another mitten or glove, take the measurements of the hand wearing the under-layer.
A full, closed mitten should be a bit larger than your hand; in formal terms, we say that it should be worn with a little positive ease.
For kids' and average adult hands (9" [23 cm] around or smaller), round up to the next half inch (full cm). For a hand 7¾ inches (19.7 cm) around, for example, make a mitten 8 inches (20 cm) around. For larger-size hands, go up 1 inch (2.5 cm). If your hand is 10 inches (25.5 cm) around, for example, go up to 11 inches (28 cm). If your yarn is thicker (2.5 to 4 sts an inch [2.5 cm]), the yarn takes up space inside the mitten, so round up two half-inch (2 full cm) increments for adult mittens.
An open-top fingerless mitten should be worn with negative ease — that is, it should be a little smaller than your hand, so that it stays in place and doesn't flop around. For most purposes, choose the nearest half inch (full cm) smaller than your hand measurement. For a hand that measures 7½ inches (19 cm) around, your fingerless mitten should be 7 inches (18 cm) around.
The exception is if you're planning to make a fingerless mitten with a flip-top. This is, essentially, a full mitten, so use the fit guidelines for full mittens.
If you want mittens to wear while working at the computer, or doing other things that require full hand motion, go down a full inch (2.5 cm). At this size, they'll be snug to your hands, and stay in place as you work. (In the winter, I often wear a light fingerless mitten when I'm teaching knitting classes; with this degree of negative ease, and a short hand length, they keep me warm in a drafty classroom but don't hamper knitting or writing on a whiteboard.)
Remember, as you're working through the pattern, follow the measurements for the size you've chosen, not your hand. That is, if you're making a mitten 9 inches (23 cm) around for a hand 8 % inches (22 cm) around, follow the sizes and measurement information for all details for the 9-inch (23-cm) size. Ease applies in all directions, after all! If you're making a mitten a little larger than your hand in circumference, lengths should also be a little longer, to correspond.
What to Do If Your Measurements Don't Match the Average
After you take your measurements and use the palm circumference to find your size on table 1.1, compare your measurements to the results from the survey. If there are any noteworth differences, you can accommodate for those variations in your pattern plans.
HAND LENGTH VARIATIONS
The basic mitten and glove patterns are all knit-to-fit for hand length, so any variation in upper hand length is easy to accommodate.
Gloves do require careful measurement, but are still easy to adjust. There are eight length measurements to check:
-> Thumb gusset
-> Length between crook of thumb and base of little finger
-> Lengths between base of little finger and base of other fingers
-> Length of each finger (five measurements)
If you need to shorten or lengthen the thumb gusset, see the "Accessories and Design Customizations" chapter on page 66. All other lengths are knit-to-fit (with suggested lengths in the tables), so any adjustments are easily accommodated as you're working.
WRIST CIRCUMFERENCE VARIATIONS
If your wrist circumference is slightly smaller than expected, you can work the pattern as written, but work the cuff on needles two sizes smaller than the rest of the mitten.
If your wrist circumference is more than half an inch (1 cm) smaller or larger than the expected measurement, you can easily adjust your cuff: add or remove multiples of four stitches from the cuff number.
There are limits: don't work the cuff on more stitches than your hand. And no matter how slim your wrist, your cuff shouldn't be smaller than about two-thirds of your hand circumference, as you might have difficulty putting it on. And if you do make the cuff slimmer, make sure you keep your cast-on nice and loose. See Making Mittens, Stretchy Cast-Ons on page 30 for more information on this.
Of course, if you do change the cuff stitch count, this will mean that the Increases and Decreases tables in the "Basic Patterns" chapter might not provide the numbers you need for the increase round you work at the top of the cuff.
If you increased your cast-on number to make your cuff larger, you'll have to do the increase calculation yourself. See the "Distributing Increases Evenly Around" sidebar on page 11.
If you made your cuff smaller, you can do the same calculation to work the increases all in one round.
Alternately, if you're nervous about the math, you can do the increases in two steps. Once your cuff is the desired length, knit one round, increasing to the original cast-on number, then work the increase round as given in the increases/decreases table. This can make things easier, as chances are that first increase round only requires four increases, and that's pretty easy to estimate: just work until you're about a quarter of the way around, work an increase, and so forth ...
If you adjust the cuff number, and you're making fingerless mittens, do use the original cuff stitches number for the upper ribbing (and the associated decrease instruction).
FINGER OR THUMB LENGTH VARIATIONS
If your hand, thumb, or finger lengths differ from the table, no changes are required, as the pattern is written as knit-to-fit.
THUMB GUSSET LENGTH VARIATIONS
The key measurement that might drive adjustment is gusset length. If your gusset length is a little bit off the number in the table, no more than a quarter inch (6 mm) longer or shorter, then this is easily dealt with. Just add or remove even rounds after the final gusset increase is worked. At that point, slip the stitches to scrap yarn (or if you're working with magic loop or two circulars, just slip those stitches onto the cord) and try the mitten on. Once the final increase is worked, work even rounds until you've hit the right length, to just reach the crook of your thumb.
If your gusset length is more than a quarter inch (6 mm) off the number in the table, then you will need to adjust the pattern. See "Accessories and Design Customizations" on page 66 for details.
Other Adjustments
DIFFERENT LEFT AND RIGHTS
If your left and right hands are significantly different, make the two different mittens or gloves to the different measurements.
As written, the basic mitten is fully reversible, so you'll need to do something to ensure you can easily identify which is left and which is right. In a situation like this, what I will often do is make a small but visible mistake in the ribbing of the left mitten. The left mitten will be "wrong," and the right mitten will be correct — "right"!
My favorite ribbing mistake is to work knit stitches where there should be purls — it's barely visible on the outside of the work, but stands out nicely on the inside, as stray purls in a knit rib.
The left and right of the gloves and mittens with a flip-top are necessarily different, so no special identification tricks are required.
SPECIAL NEEDS
Hands aren't always shaped in the way you expect, perhaps due to a deformity or an accident. Mittens are usually the best choice in this situation, as they are more easily adjusted than gloves.
If the hand has fewer than four fingers, or a narrower upper hand in some way, then you can narrow the upper portion of the hand by working it on smaller needles than the rest of the hand. Change to smaller needles once the thumb gusset stitches have been separated.
You can also change the closure of the hand, creating a more gradual taper by working an even round after each decrease round. When estimating where to start the decreases, double the closure length number from the tables.
If you don't need a thumb gusset, you can work a straight, thumbless mitten very easily: once the increase for the hand has been worked, work even until the hand is the length you need before the decrease.
If your thumb gusset is significantly different in length than for the average hand, see "Accessories and Design Customizations" on page 66 for details on how to adjust the gusset length.
CHAPTER 2
YARNS & WARMTH
The objective with mittens and gloves is, of course, warmth, so your yarn (and fabric) choices should take that into account.
The first rule is to choose a fiber (or blend) that provides warmth and insulation. And the second rule is to create a dense fabric.
Choosing Yarns
WOOL AND ANIMAL FIBERS
Mittens are traditionally worked with wool yarn-specifically sheep's wool — to take advantage of the natural properties of that fiber. Sheep's wool breathes, wicks moisture away, and is insulating, making it an ideal fiber choice for keeping your hands warm. If your mittens get wet, even in very cold temperatures, the moisture is wicked away from your hands to the surface, and will evaporate, making wool mittens perfect for a snowball fight. Choose the standard handwash wool, or the machine-wash-friendly superwash wool: either works well. There is one advantage to a handwash-only wool: if you make the mittens a bit large, they will felt down over time with wear and moisture, creating a denser, windproof fabric.
Other animal fibers are excellent for warmth, too. The alpaca, llama, and vicuña produce very warm yarns — warmer than sheep's wool, in fact — which are excellent for mitten making. These creatures are less common than sheep, and so the fiber is typically more expensive than sheep's wool. Look for these fibers blended with wool for extra warmth at a more reasonable price point.
Also look for cashmere on its own or in blends. Cashmere comes from goats, and is fantastically warm and soft. Again, a blend might be more affordable.
Mohair also comes from goats, is a wonderfully warm fiber, and, because it takes dye very well, is available in a wide range of fun colors. Mohair-based yarns are often fluffy, which can help to create a windproof fabric.
Three lesser-known but terrific choices for mittens and gloves are qiviut, yak, and possum. Qiviut is the soft, downy undercoat of the musk ox and, according to those who know about these sorts of things, is about eight times warmer than sheep's wool. It's also unique in that it's the only animal fiber that in its natural form doesn't felt — it can safely be machine washed. Yak fiber is a close second in terms of warmth and luxury, and is more affordable, as the yak can be domesticated and the fiber is collected from combing. Qiviut fiber is typically gathered from the pelt after a hunt.
The possum (not to be confused with the North American opossum) is a small rodent-like marsupial, native to Australia. They were introduced into New Zealand by settlers, but rapidly became a pest because they have no natural predators. Because of this, they are culled, and the fiber is collected from the pelts as a by-product of that cull. Possum fiber is soft, luxurious yarn and warmer than sheep's wool, and it's starting to become more common in handknitting yarns, often in blends.
Angora — from rabbits — is very warm, too, and can sometimes be found in blends with wool. It's rather fallen out of fashion as a handknitting fiber, as its short base (staple) fiber length makes it hard to spin, and it's very sheddy. Angora allergies are fairly common, too.
And, perhaps unexpectedly, silk is another terrific fiber for warmth, whether on its own or blended with wool. It's particularly of interest to those who are looking for wool-free alternatives.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Knit Mitts"
by .
Copyright © 2017 Kate Atherley.
Excerpted by permission of F+W Media, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Why Fit Matters & How To Use This Book, 04,
Chapter One: Hand Size & Mitten Fit, 06,
Chapter Two: Yarns & Warmth, 14,
Chapter Three: Making Mittens & Gloves, 24,
Chapter Four: The Basic Patterns, 42,
Chapter Five: Accessories & Design Customizations, 66,
Chapter Six: Patterns, 78,
Abbreviations, 139,
Stitch Glossary, 140,
Bibliography and References, 141,
Acknowledgments, 142,
Index, 143,