Hi, I am knitting my first pair of fingerless gloves following the Bhren’s fingerless gloves and I need some help doing the ‘upper hand’. What does it mean to place the next 14 sts on waste yarn, closing the gap between the front and back of the hand?
Thank you!!
The scrap yarn acts as a stitch holder, but it’s flexible so it can fold up as you knit the sts on either side of these held sts.
The scrap yarn acts as a stitch holder and keeps the unworked stitches out of the way as you just work each finger. You will then take a few stitches off the waste yarn and work each finger in turn. The easiest way to put these stitches on a piece of waste yarn is to thread a yarn needle and insert it into each stitch, sliding it off the needle. A contrast color will make it easier to see.
Knitting these short fingers on fingerless gloves is a bit intimidating for some beginners and intermediates. If you absolutely can’t get it, you can knit a ribbing 3/4 of an inch from where you want the glove to fall and bind off with a regular bind off. The regular bind off will make the gloves a little snugger around your knuckles. If you finish the gloves off with a ribbing rather than fingers, the distance from the thumb opening to the finished top of the rib will be 1 3/4 to 2 inches, depending on how long your hands are. That’s an inch of stockinette stitch and 3/4 inch of ribbing. Or for two inches, 1 1/4 inches of stockinette and 3/4 ribbing.
I can knit fingers on gloves, but I just don’t have a lot of time lately with working. I’ve switched from doing fancy fingers to the simple but functional ribbing.