A few weeks ago I was at one of my local yarn shops (LYS), Mother of Purl, looking for some new yarn to use for making a special birthday present. I knew I wanted to make some kind of fingerless mitt/arm warmer thing, but just wasn’t sure about the yarn or details yet. In walks my friend Cynthia and she was wearing a pair of simple, beautiful fingerless mitts, knit up in the very same yarn that I had just been eyeing (The Croft Shetland Tweed from West Yorkshire Spinners)! It was a total inspiration moment!
This is one of the things I love most about being at a LYS – you’re not only supporting a local business, but you also get the opportunity to be with other knitters who will inspire you and you can share your enthusiasm and ideas together. I made a couple of pairs (another yarn I used was Ella Rae’s Cozy Alpaca – I recommend that as well!), and because I loved working with the yarn so much, I made another pair for myself!
As I was making them, I realized that this would be the perfect project to learn or practice the magic loop technique. It’s a small circumference, so you either need to work on double pointed needles, or use the magic loop technique (using a long circular). Because you are just knitting every round and there’s no shaping, it’s a great “learn magic loop” opportunity. So I typed up the easy instructions and created a video lesson for that shows you how to make them using the Magic Loop technique! I’ve named them “Saturday Sleeves” because they’re perfect for running errands on winter weekends when you sometimes need to cover your fingers and sometimes need your hands free! A special thank you to Cynthia for her inspiration for this project 🙂
So how do you make them?
It’s so simple – you just need approx. 125 yds (or 150 yds if making the larger size) of worsted-weight yarn and US 7 needles (either DPNs or 32″ circular). You’ll cast-on 37 stitches (or 43 if making larger size), join to work in the round and work in Stockinette stitch for around 10″ or your desired length. One skein is all you need! For those of you who want a printed pattern of this, I put the instructions in a free PDF pattern as well and also included a larger size option as well. Click here for the pattern page.
I loved using The Croft Shetland Tweed yarn – the speckled variegated colors are just so pretty! But any worsted-weight yarn will work as well. On my Saturday Sleeves Tips page I also provide guidance on how many stitches to cast-on if you want to use a different yarn weight.
How do you wear them?
They’re as versatile as they are simple. Because there’s no thumb hole (it literally looks like a sleeve!), you can slide them down your fingers when you want to keep them warm or slide them up your wrist when you need to free up your whole hand. It’s perfect for running errands during winter weekends (hence the name, Saturday Sleeves!) because you can move them up and down depending on if you’re outside or inside.
Magic Loop Video Lesson!
As I mentioned above, this is the perfect little project to learn or practice the magic loop technique. My video lesson below shows you everything you need to know!
What if you want to use DPNs?
Don’t worry – if you prefer to use DPNs but need a bit of a refresher, I have a video tutorial for that too! You can check it out here.
I hope you enjoy this little project! If you have any follow-up questions, feel free to reach out!