Hello, second time posting here and needing some help. I came across a pattern for fingerless gloves that I’d like to make, since they sound like a nice beginner pattern. Here is the pattern:
"materials:
3.5 mm straight needles
DK weight wool
size: one size fits most. CO 8 extra sts if you have larger wrists.
CO 40 sts. k2 p2 rib for 2", switch to stocking st and knit a further 2.5", switch to k1 p1 rib and finish with 0.5" ribbing. BO in pattern. seam the edge with mattress st, leaving a 1" gap halfway down for your thumb. "
Unfortunately, the only yarn I’ve got is worsted weight, and I have a lot of it! I’d like to use that if I can, rather than going out and buying yet more yarn. I also don’t have 3.5 mm needles. How would I go about converting this to worsted weight, and which size needles should I use for it? I know DK and worsted are fairly close in size, but I’m not sure how much of a difference it would make if I followed this pattern exactly using worsted.
Here is where gauge comes in. Knit a swatch with your worsted weight and a needle that makes a good fabric–6 through 9 is usual. Then measure how many stitches per inch you get.
Using the measurements of the gloves around the hand, convert your gauge to fit that size. For example, if the gauge as written in the pattern is 5 stitches per inch, the measurement of the glove is 8 inches around.
If your gauge with the worsted is 4 per inch, you’d cast on 32 stitches instead.
Thanks for the quick replies! As far as using gauge, since the pattern didn’t list a gauge, how do I go about adjusting gauge? I think for now I’ll go ahead and use size 6 needles and 40 CO stitches and see how it looks after a few rows. It isn’t like these are a major project that will take a lot of time if I don’t like the way they’re turning out.
That’s the best way to do it. It’s kinda small to do a proper swatch anyway, so just CO and knit a few inches (about 2 or 3, a couple rows won’t be enough to measure correctly) and see what size you come out with.
I agree with Sue. You’ll need several inches to see how the ribbing will pull in. A few rows in it still looks all stretched out and you’ll think they are too big, but they may not be.