As I’ve mentioned, I’m trying to make sure I crochet more for my family this year. Someone reminded me recently of the old saying “the cobbler’s children have no shoes” (more familiar to me in the French “les cordonniers sont les plus mal chaussés“) and it’s so true! So next off my hook have been some crocheted fingerless gloves for Mr Conkers, so he can do the full Bob Cratchit in his home office.
I couldn’t survive without my fingerless gloves at home, so Mr Conkers definitely needed some of his own. Although I’m also currently still making the Zig-zag Lap Blanket, I felt no compunction casting on another project, because they are both easy and enjoyable, so one is not stopping me completing the other.
I always feel that I ought to knit clothing and accessories, to give a more traditional look and feel to the finished articles. But I’m trying to convince myself that since these are for use at home and in private only, so long as they function, that is more important. To be fair the crocheted rib is pretty good and the finished article gives 80-90% of the functionality/comfort that a similar knitted item would do. If I were to knit these it would take a couple of weeks (of forcing myself to get on with them), whereas I crocheted these in a couple of hours, barely concentrating, so that’s a big tick in favour of the crochet route too.
I wanted to make sure the gloves were supple and not at all bulky, so I looked for a pattern which would suit a 4ply [US: fingering] weight yarn.
The pattern I used is the Peppermint Gloves pattern by Susanne W on Ravelry. It was important that the gloves have an actual thumb, not just a slit, ribbing at the wrist and no frills and furbelows. This pattern fits the bill perfectly. It is actually designed for DK [US: light worsted weight] yarn, but I could see that I could make it work with the 4ply I had in mind.
The pattern is written perfectly clearly and was very quick to work up. I omitted all the colour changes, making it very simple. The cuff is a good length on the wrist, but would be easier to make longer if you wanted to. I will certainly use the pattern again, which is highest praise from me, as I am one for redesigning things!
The only minor changes I made was to replace Round 16 with two rounds of BLO dc [US sc] and I added an additional round to lengthen the thumb.
The yarn I chose was Debbie Bliss Rialto 4ply because it is pure wool and still soft. It’s quite plump for a 4ply yarn, so I knew it would work well in this pattern.
I chose colour 004 Grey and it really is the dullest of dull greys. Honestly, if you could pick a colour that says “Victorian workhouse” this would be it. This seemed like the right idea at the time, in that these were a surprise for Mr Conkers and the first gloves like these he has had. Making them as neutral and inoffensive as possible seemed like the way to go. However, my youngest agreed with me when I was crocheting them and saying that it was an awfully miserable colour and asked why I didn’t make Daddy colourful gloves. They are of course perfectly right. Lesson learnt.
The gloves fit Mr Conkers perfectly when made as stated – he has small hands. I’m planning to make these for my eldest too, so will probably size them up a little for them.
Meanwhile, my wonderful upcycled cashmere wrist warmers by Maisie Made Dorset are still going strong. I love these things so much, I wear them year round and they have been darned and darned again. I will certainly be returning to her for another pair as soon as I can.
You can see full details of the crocheted fingerless gloves pattern and examples made by others via my Bob Cratchit Gloves Ravely Project.