Target

Here's another freebie for you, this time fingerless mitts for men. These were made for my bf's Dad, who belongs to a gun club and enjoys his target shooting. I thought they might help to keep his hands warm in winter without impeding his aim. As always, use the pattern for whatever/whoever you like, but please credit me by linking back to my blog for the pattern. And if you find any errors or something isn't clear, let me know and I'll endeavour to fix it.

Target

You will need:

Approximately 60gms of fingering weight yarn. I used Haven by Naturally in black and Patonyle sock yarn in navy. You don't need 2 colours, they'd look just fine all in one colour.

If you're using 2 colours, I've called the cuff colour "colour A" throughout, and the hand colour "colour B"

2 small safety pins to use as stitch holders

2.5mm circular needles

A stitch marker or 2 if you feel more comfortable using them during the increases.

The pattern:

With Colour A, CO 68 sts. Join for working in the round, being careful not to twist stitches. You should have 34 sts on each needle.
K2, p2 rib for 2 inches, break colour A and join in Colour B.

Pattern rounds –
Rnds 1 & 2: K all sts
Rnds 3 & 4: K2, P2 around.
Continue working these 4 pattern rounds until you have worked a further 2 inches.

Thumb gusset –
Into the first st of the next round, kfb. Continue the round in pattern.
At the beginning of the next round, kfb, kfb, continue the round in pattern.
Next round – kfb, k1, kfb, continue the round in pattern.

Next round - kfb, k3, kfb, continue the round in pattern.
Continue increasing on each round until you have 29 extra sts at the beginning of the round. On the next round, work those sts and place them onto 2 safety pins; 15 on the first and 14 on the second. Forget about those sts for now, and continue with the remaining sts (you should still have 34 on each needle) in pattern for a further 8 rounds.

Finger cuff –
Break Colour B and rejoin Colour A. Work k2, p2 rib for another 2 inches (more or less, depending on the recipient’s taste in length), and cast off knitwise.

Thumb cuff –
Put the stitches from the safety pins back onto your needles. Pick up an extra 3 sts from between the thumb gusset and the main body of the mitt (this will help to close up any gaps) and knit 1 round with Colour A. K2, p2 rib for 7 more rounds, then cast off knitwise.

Do it all over again.

Work in ends, and wear with pride.

Last Minute...

It's my oldest school friend's birthday today - so I decided to design her a scarf. Yesterday. Procrastination is my middle name! And my friend's middle name is Myna, hence the name of the scarf.



So, as usual, here is the pattern. Free to use blah blah. Please credit me as the designer as always, and link back to my blog for the pattern.

Myna

You will need:

Approximately 50g of fingering weight yarn. I used Moda Vera Soya because I love the drape, so something similar such as bamboo would work just as well. It's not a long scarf, I used about 165 metres (just over one ball). Make it as long as you like.

5mm knitting needles.

2.75mm crochet hook. (Don't worry, it's just for the beading at the end. If you can crochet a chain (ch) and do a slip stitch (sl st) , that's all you need to know. If you can't, learn - it's easy!)

A large-ish glass bead or pendant.

Approximately 30 6mm beads.


Cast on 3 sts.

Row 1: K3
Row 2: Kfb, k1, kfb (5sts)
Row 3: K5
Row 4: Kfb, k3, kfb (7sts)

Ok, you get the idea. You're knitting all the odd numbered rows, and increasing each even numbered row by 2 stitches, 1 at either end. I stopped when I got to 29 sts, but as long as you've got an odd number of stitches, you can have it as wide or as narrow as you like. Finish on an odd row.

The pattern:

Row 1: *K2tog, yo* to last stitch, k1.
Row 2: Knit all stitches.
Row 3: Knit all stitches.

That's all there is to it! Knit those 3 rows until the scarf is as long as you want it, and cast off at the end of a row 3. Leave the last stitch active though, you're going to use your crochet hook now.

Thread your 6mm beads onto the yarn. With your hook, starting with the last active stitch, ch 11. Move one bead up, and secure it in the chain with a sl st. Ch 11, get another bead and secure it to the cast off row with a sl st. Carry on in this way, spacing your beads evenly across the cast off row (sometimes you'll secure in the next cast off stitch, sometimes you'll miss a stitch to keep it even) ending with a sl st and bead at the opposite end of the cast off row.

At the beginning end of the scarf, use the cast on tail of the yarn and crochet a chain of about 8 - 10 sts. Thread your large glass bead or pendant onto the chain, and secure the chain to the point of the scarf with a sl st.

Work in the ends. Easy huh?

Let me know if something's not clear or doesn't make sense and I'll try to write it clearer. Now - go to it!

Magic Mitts

Magic Mitts

Here's another free pattern for you. Quick and easy, I whipped them up in a few hours for my friend's little boy. They would be easy to make bigger or smaller too, just add or decrease stitches in multiples of 4 (remember to adjust the thumb gusset accordingly). This pair fits approximately ages 4 to 7, there's a lot of stretch in them. And they look hideous when there are no hands in them! Just so as you know, and don't freak out while you're making them.

You will need:

2.5mm circular needles

Approximately 30gm fingering weight yarn

2 small safety pins to use as stitch-holders

2 stitch markers if required.

Cast on 48 sts and join for knitting in the round, 24sts on each needle.

K2, P2 rib for 3.5 inches.

On the next round, kfb, k1, continue knitting in rib to end of round.

On each round now, you will increase 2 sts to create the thumb gusset. So the next round will be kfb, kfb, *p2, k2* to last 2 sts, p2.

Next round: Kfb, k2, kfb, *p2, k2* to last 2 sts, p2.

Next round: Kfb, k4, kfb, *p2, k2* to last 2 sts, p2.

Continue increasing in this manner until you have an extra 18 sts, then on the next round, knit those extra sts and place half each on a small safety pin and forget about them for now.

K2, P2 rib on the remaining sts (you should still have 48 active sts) for another 2.75 inches.

Cast off knitwise.

Now you'll need to put those thumb gusset sts back on your needles, 9 sts on each. Knit one round, picking up 2 sts from where the body of the mitt joins the thumb. This will help to close any gaps, and means that you now have 20sts on your needles. For the next 7 rounds, *k2, p2* around, then cast off knitwise.

Work in ends.

As always, if anything doesn't make sense or is unclear, let me know! And again, as always, feel free to use the pattern to make gifts, or to sell the mitts, but please link back to my blog and credit me as the pattern designer.