Fingerless mittens

I tried a couple different styles, including knitting on double pointed needles but settled on a simple method using straight needles where you knit them flat and then stitch them up. It's easy, knits up fast and makes for pretty good fingerless mittens.

You can use Number 8 or 9 needles. Cast on 28-30 stitches of worsted weight yarn and knit two or three inches of ribbing. I like the look of only using knit stitches but alternating knits and purls would work just as well. When you have six inches or so of the body knit another inch or two of ribbing and bind off.

To stitch them up, fit the glove to your hand, starting at the finger end works best for me. Use a tapestry needle or the big ones yo find in knit shops and do a simple whip stitch down to where you'd like the thumb to be. I weave the yarn through the knitting to get it around the thumb opening and then, again fitting it to your hand, start stitching again and go down to the wrist. Simple as that. You can vary the stitches, make them fair isle, whatever you'd like.

Mine are working well for the mild, but still often cold, weather we have here in the San Francisco area. As with most knit gloves and mittens they wear quickly on a bicycle. I'm planning to stitch leather palms on a pair soon and see how that helps with the bicycle wear and tear.