How to: Handspun fingerless gloves (FREE BEGINNER CROCHET PATTERN) -

Hello everybody! The consensus seems to be that summer is the perfect time to work on ANY project. If you live in a cooler climate like me, then a pair of fingerless mitts and a jumper can be the perfect staple for your summer festival/camping/evening wardrobe.. who is with me?

When knitting with colourful art yarns, I find simplicity is best. You want a pattern which is going to make your yarn shine, not distract from it. Sometimes you can spend lots of time adding in texture stitches and they aren’t even noticeable with such an already busy yarn. Cue my fingerless gloves pattern..

I have written this pattern with beginners in mind. One of the first things I tried to crochet were fingerless gloves, they are really simple and work up fast, perfect for beginners. If you go wrong a few times, thats normal, there isn’t much to loose if you do find a mistake and need to undo! I whipped these up using less than half a skein of my chunky art yarn singles, it took me around 1.5-2 hours to complete both pairs.

If you would like to use the same yarn as me, I release a handful of handspun skeins of this yarn on the 1st of every month, you can also message here for a custom spin 🙂

(I’ve adjusted the thumb slightly in the written version of the pattern, to make it more beginner friendly, the white crochet glove pictured at the bottom of the page sports the altered thumb, so scroll below to see if you can spot the difference!)

The yarn

This style of single ply yarn is my current go-to, for a bulky handspun knitting/crochet yarn (just personal preference theres no right or wrong,)

It is no great secret that using singles isn’t the most durable choice for more hardwearing items such as hand warmers. However chunky singles hold up really well. I’ve been wearing mine for months throughout winter the mohair has all fuzzed up and they look wonderfully wild. The colours still look great and with a little TLC (the odd wash and fuzz trim) they really are lovely.

For an alternative yarn, you could always spin your own bulky 2 ply, if you don’t want to use singles. For small items you can get away spinning with high twist/worsted style for added durability. If none of these options appeal, you could choose a commercial chunky alternative, or even better, get some of your bulky scraps busted!

About the pattern

The pattern is worked using a 9mm crochet hook and my handspun chunky art yarn singles. It is written in US terms (I know i’m from the UK and thats confusing, but it’s just how it works in my head after following American patterns!)

With handspun yarn (especially this style due to the huge variance in texture and gauge.. hello fabric scraps and woolen locks) you must let go of perfection and embrace a little bit of wonky unique-ness. With some wear, it will probably be hardly noticeable. Just embrace it, you may get a perfect pair but perfect is over rated. The beauty of something truly hand made is they don’t look like they came from a machine, they may be a little wonky and imperfect but thats rather lovely, don’t you think?

The hand warmers are worked as a spiral in the round, mainly through the back loop, which makes the mitt a little less bulky and a bit more stretchy. However, for a little added durability around the thumb, wrist and fingers, you will crochet in both loops. The thumb hole is worked in the round, no attaching extra bits of yarn or working in an awkward little circle. It’s somewhere between a thumb hole and a gusset.. I likey!

You can use this pattern in any way you like, but I kindly ask that you credit me and tag me on social (@rootedfibres) if you do!
Now lets get started!

The pattern

MATERIALS

9mm crochet hook

50-60g of my chunky handspun singles/ your own chunky weight handspun yarn/ a chunky commercial alternative
A tapestry needle (to weave in ends)
Stitch marker (I find using a running stitch marker best)

PATTERN NOTES

Worked in the round as a spiral to create a seamless glove.
Gauge – 4 SC (TBL) x 4 rows = 1.5″ x 2″ (I will add notes on how to alter length in the pattern)
Size – Approx 17cm/6.5 inches long 20cm/8 inches circumference around wrist.
Notes and pictures included for extra guidence
I have bullet pointed to make the pattern more ‘digestable’ to read. Each ’round’ refers to one whole row worked all the way around your glove.
Written in US terms.

ABBREVIATIONS YOU WILL NEED TO KNOW (US TERMS)

SC – Single crochet

DC – Double crochet

HDC – Half double crochet

CH – Chain

BOR – Beginning of round

TBL – Crochet through the back loop

M – Marker

SL ST – Slip stitch

INSTRUCTIONS (I will include notes/pictures for extra guidence) – LETS DO THIS!

To start

Ch 18
(Make sure to leave a tail to use to neaten up your edge later)

Now we are going to SC into the first chain space you made so we can begin working in the round in a spiral.

Round 1

SC 1
place BOR M on this stitch to mark it as the first stitch of your round
SC to the end of the round (18 stitches)

Round 2

SC around (18 stitches)
(Remember to slip the marker into your first SC so you can keep track of the beginning of your round)

We are going to continue working in a spiral through the back loop only (TBL) until the piece measures approximately 9.5cm (or a row short of your desired length.) I like this length for practicality, but you can just keep trying your mitt on till you find the perfect length (measuring from your wrist up to the base of your thumb.)

Round 3

Crochet TBL all the way around (18 stitches)

Round 4-12

Repeat until piece measures approx 9.5cm or desired length (18 stitches)

Round 13

SC 2 TBL
SC 2 into the next space
This is to create some extra stitches for the thumb
SC 3 TBL
SC 2 in next space
SC TBL till the end of your round (20 stitches)

We’re going to now separate some stitches for the thumb opening

Round 14

SC 2 TBL
Sl ST into next space
CH 2
Skip 4 stitches and SL ST into the 5th space
SC TBL till the end of the round. (20 stitches, plus chain 2 space)

Your going to ignore the chain for now, and work all the way around the mitt like so

Round 15

SC 2 TBL
SC 1 (through both loops)
HDC 4 (into the next 4 thumbhole stitches)
SC 1 (into the stitch after the CH 2 space)
SC TBL till the end of the round. (20 stitches, plus 2 chain space)

Thats your thumb hole done! Now we are going to leave the thumb stitches and crochet into the ch 2 space to work up the rest of the mitt.

Round 16

SC 3 TBL
DC 2 (into each CH space)
SC around TBL (18 stitches)
(It is easy to misss a stitch, so make sure you SC into the first space after your 4 thumb stitches, as seen below)

Your on the home stretch now! Just a few more rows of SC to go!

Round 17

SC TBL all the way around (18 stitches)

We will now work 2 final rows crocheting through both loops, this is to make the stitches around your fingers slightly more harder wearing, like we did around the bottom of the wrist. I like to end my mitts when it is touching the knuckle of my little finger. If you would like a longer mitt, just repeat round 17.
We will work the 2 final rows crocheting through both loops, so stop roughly 1.5 inches before you reach your desired length to account for these rows.

Round 18

SC all the way around (through both loops)

Round 19

Repeat round 18
I like to SL ST into the last stitch, to make a neater join.
Cut your yarn, leaving a tail for weaving.

To Finish

Weave in your ends.
make sure to thread them in and out of a few stitches to bridge the little ridge that you made beginning/finishing your fingerless glove.

WOOHOOO! One glove down, and one to go! Now all you need to do is repeat for the second mitt.

Thats really all there is to it! I hope you found this pattern helpful and you love your new pair of fingerless gloves! I would love to see/hear your thoughts, so please tag me @rootedfibres or comment below. If theres anything you would like clearing up, or if you find any errors in the pattern please reach out and let me know. I always love to hear from you!

Have a wonderful day!

Love and Fluff,

Lauren xo