Thursday, December 7, 2017

Knit a Scarf and Fingerless Gloves

Every year we either adopt a family for Christmas or some how contribute to a cause or person.  This year we decided to help out a person who fell on hard times.  It is harder and harder for some people to recover in today's society, so a little help is important.  Some people think the harder you work, the more you succeed.  That isn't always the case.  Some of the hardest workers I know, struggle the most.   Sometimes it takes a little luck and some help from others.

While out looking for some basic gifts, we decided a scarf and mittens would probably be useful.  As unbelievable as it sounds, a nice scarf and mitten set are not that easy to find for a good price.  I did find some cashmere scarves for a lot of money but figured we could buy a lot of stuff for the cost of one scarf.  I decided to go home and make a set.

I went down into my stash of yarn and came up with 4 skeins of white worsted weight yarn.  Who knows how old it is but it seemed in good shape.  Then I started knitting.

The scarf in progress.

Easy Scarf Pattern

Using two strands of worsted weight yarn held together and a size 11 knitting needle, I cast on 26 stitches.

Row 1:  Knit 3, purl 2, knit 2, purl 2, knit 8, purl 2, knit 2, purl 2, knit 3
Row 2:  Purl 3, knit 2, purl 2,  knit 2, purl 8, knit 2, purl 2, knit 2, purl 3
Row 3:  Knit 3, purl 2, knit 2, purl 2, knit 8, purl 2, knit 2, purl 2, knit 3
Row 4:  Purl 3, knit 2, purl 2,  knit 2, purl 8, knit 2, purl 2, knit 2, purl 3
Row 5:  Knit 3, purl 2, knit 2, purl 2, knit 8, purl 2, knit 2, purl 2, knit 3
Row 6:  Purl 3, knit 2, purl 2,  knit 2, purl 8, knit 2, purl 2, knit 2, purl 3
Row 7:  Knit 3, purl 2, knit 2, purl 2, *cable on 8 stitches, purl 2, knit 2, purl 2, knit 3
Row 8:  Purl 3, knit 2, purl 2,  knit 2, purl 8, knit 2, purl 2, knit 2, purl 3

*Make cable by slipping 4 stitches onto a cable needle and hold in back of the work, knit 4 stitches and then knit the 4 stitches from the cable needle.

This is a cable needle

Repeat these 8 rows until the scarf is as long as you want it.  I did 30 repeats.

As a helpful hint, I wrote down the rows I needed to do the cable.  They are rows 7, 15, 23, 31, 39, 47, 55, 63, 71, 79, 87, 95, 103, 111, 119, 127, 135, 143, 151, 159, 167, 175, 183, 191, 199, 207, 215, 223, 231 and 239

There are different styles of row counters for knitting and crocheting including writing a hash mark for each row on paper, but I used a hand tally counter like they use to count people.  It worked great.


Next I needed some gloves or mittens.  I decided that fingerless gloves are popular now.  People like to have their fingers available to use their smartphones.  I have blogged a couple fingerless glove patterns in the past so I made a variation of them.

Fingerless Gloves

This pattern also uses two strands of Worsted Weight yarn held together and four double pointed size 9 knitting needles.

Cast on 28 stitches divided on three double pointed needles.  Knit a 2 x 2 rib for 2 1/2 inches (approx. 13 rows).

Round 1:  knit 2, purl 2, knit 6, purl 2,  knit around.
Round 2:  Repeat round 1
Round 3:  Repeat round 1
Round 4:  knit 2, purl 2, Cable* on 6 stitches, purl 2, knit around
Round 5 - 11:   Repeat round 1
Round 12:   Repeat round 4

*Make cable by slipping 3 stitches onto a cable needle and hold in back of the work, knit 3 stitches and then knit the 3 stitches from the cable needle.

Round 13:  knit 2, purl 2, knit 6, purl 2, knit 1, place marker, increase in next two stitches (4 sts) , place marker to begin gusset, knit 13
Round 14:  knit 2, purl 2, knit 6, purl 2, knit 1, slip marker, knit 4, slip marker, knit 13
Round 15:  knit 2, purl 2, knit 6, purl 2, knit 1, slip marker, increase, knit 2, increase (6 sts), slip marker, knit 13
Round 16:  knit 2, purl 2, knit 6, purl 2, knit 1, slip marker, knit 6, slip marker, knit 13
Round 17:  knit 2, purl 2, knit 6, purl 2, knit 1, slip marker, increase, knit 4, increase (8 sts), slip marker, knit 13
Round 18:  knit 2, purl 2, knit 6, purl 2, knit 1, slip marker, knit 8, slip marker, knit 13
Round 19:  knit 2, purl 2, knit 6, purl 2, knit 1, slip marker, increase, knit 6, increase (10 sts),  slip marker, knit 13
Round 20:  knit 2, purl 2, Cable, purl 2, knit 1, slip marker, knit 10, slip marker, knit 13
Round 21: knit 2, purl 2, knit 6, purl 2, knit 1, slip marker, knit 10, slip marker, knit 13
Round 22:  knit 2, purl 2, knit 6, purl 2, knit 1, slip marker, knit 10, slip marker, knit 13
Round 23:  knit 2, purl 2, knit 6, purl 2, knit 2, bind off 8 stitches, knit 14
Round 24:  knit 2, purl 2, knit 6, purl 2, knit 1, closing the thumb hole gap.  It's easiest to cast on two extra stitches. finish row in knitting
Round 25:  knit 2, purl 2, knit 6, purl 2, finish row in knitting
Round 26:  knit 2, purl 2, knit 6, purl 2, finish row in knitting
Round 27:  knit 2, purl 2, knit 6, purl 2, finish row in knitting
Round 28:  knit 2, purl 2, Cable on 6 sts, purl 2, knit around
Round 29:  knit 2, purl 2, knit 6, purl 2, knit around
Round 30:  knit 13, knit next two stitches together (dec), knit 13, knit next two stitches together (dec)
Round 31-34:  knit 2, purl 2
Bind off all the stitches (28 sts.)
Weave in the tails.

Now you have to make a 2nd fingerless glove reversing the rounds.  Instead of making the cable section on the first needle make it on the third needle.  If you eliminate the cable pattern then both gloves can be made the same.


If you are a knitter and need a quick gift, this is perfect.  This is my pattern adapted from other projects I have made.  I hope the instructions are clear.  I included as much detail as I could.  It only took 10 oz. of yarn and is very quick to knit.  I made these in 3 evenings while watching TV.  You could make a cowl by connecting the ends of the scarf.